Oswin Oswald
by ThePotterDoctor
Summary: SuperPrompt Number 1. After a year trapped on the Dalek Asylum, Oswin Oswald has finally escaped and is travelling the stars with a madman in a box. But when tragedy strikes, only Oswin can rescue the Doctor from himself, and stop him from falling into the abyss. Whouffle AU Credit to whouffletothemax
1. Chapter 1: Escaping the Asylum

***Hello one and all! This story is an epic super prompt, that i owe entirely to whouffletothemax. It's fairly obvious, it's an Oswin Oswald AU. I'm not 100% sure if she's still a Clara echo and where this story is in fact going yet, so that leaves open a lot of options. Nevertheless, she's not a Dalek, she survives AotD and she will travel with the Doctor. And I wanted to write a very different dynamic between Oswin and 11 to Clara and 11, partially because that's what the prompt dictates but also because Oswin is a completely different character and I want that to show. I'm going to post chapters as soon as I write them, so expect weekly or maybe bi-weekly updates, but I won't post as religiously as I do with Healing. I also have no idea how long this is going to be and chapter length will probably vary. Could be 5 chapters, could be 20, let's find out. In any case, I hope you enjoy it! Please review and let me know your thoughts. TPD***

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"Come and meet the girl who can!" Oswin smirked as the doors to her little hidey hole opened. The Doctor stepped inside and Oswin grabbed all of her things and hurled them into a small bag. He was staring at her like he couldn't believe she existed. "Nice bow tie!" Oswin winked at him and tapped his bow tie. Oswin's lair was small and more like a cubby hole than anything else. It was an escape pod, not a home. There was an oven, a bed, a lot of computers, which Oswin loved and not a lot else besides. Storage for food, some spare clothes. She was wearing her favourite red dress, with sneakers and her tool belt. Her hair was all over the place, but she didn't care. She was getting out of here. The Doctor was still looking around in amazement.

"How did you do all this?" he asked. "None of this should be possible."

"I'm a genius!" Oswin replied, throwing out her hands to indicate the point. The Doctor was still staring. "Oh for God's sake Chin-Boy, I didn't manage to get my shields up in time and some of the nano genes infected me. They raised my intelligence, made me angry and I was converted slightly. The Daleks didn't realise that I could use that intelligence against them, rather than use it to defend the asylum. Luckily, I managed to halt the process. Well," she winced and her face fell. "Pause the process. They're still in me. When we leave I'll…"

"Hmm," he sounded apprehensive. "I'll have to fix that. Can't have you running around with Dalek nano genes. Don't worry Oswin, I'll get you right as reign. But, before we lower the force field and get out of here, where did you get the milk for the soufflés?"

"Still banging on about that?" Oswin laughed, before indicating the corner where she had a giant tub of powdered milk. "Couldn't make as many soufflés as I'd like with it but there you go. Anyway, let's get out of here. I'll lower the force field."

"No," the Doctor was already on top of it. He was hammering away at the keyboard with a speed that Oswin could only admire. "I'm doing it; just make sure you have everything you need. And get ready to run."

"Running with a clever boy with a big chin who's going to show me the stars?" Oswin couldn't keep the glee out of her voice. "It's all I've ever dreamed about."

The Doctor shot her a wicked grin as he looked up from the keyboard. "Geronimo." Oswin was already moving, running for the door. The Doctor caught up with her and she grabbed his hand, pulling him along behind her as he shouted something about hand-holding being his thing. She flicked a look over her shoulder and caught him staring at her arse. She threw him a flirtatious wink and carried on running. He pulled up alongside her and they shared a grin. It was a grin of exhilaration, as they were running literally for their lives and they could be blown up at any moment. They hammered on their way down the corridors, laughing as they did so. They reached the teleport and the Doctor, out of breath, did some quick introductions.

"Oswin, this is Pond and Nina."

"Rory."

"Hush Nina. Teleport."

Rory pressed the teleport button and they dematerialised, reappearing inside the TARDIS. The Doctor laughed wickedly as Amy and Rory shut their eyes, as if preparing for extermination. Oswin grabbed him and pulled him into a snog that lasted for a few seconds, her tongue dancing with his as he flailed and waved his hands around and Rory and Amy burst into laughter, before kissing as well.

"Oi!" the Doctor snapped when she finished. "No kissing in my TARDIS."

"Look who's talking!" Amy shot back as Oswin laughed and the Doctor straightened his bow tie furiously. He glared at Oswin, who shrugged playfully. The Doctor ran over to the door to tease the Daleks and whilst he was outside, Oswin found herself being looked up and down by Amy and Rory.

"Sorry," Oswin smiled at them. "Didn't get too much time to chat, what with all the exploding and the Daleks and the teleporting. Oswin Oswald. I was the Junior Entertainment Manager on the Alaska. I left everything behind, all my family and friends. My mum died a few years back, so I don't really have anyone that I care about back on earth. There's my dad, but he was never around much by the time I left."

"I spent my life thinking that I didn't have parents," Amy replied. "And at the same time, I didn't. Time travel, it plays with your head."

"You guys are time travellers as well as space travellers?" Oswin sounded impressive. "Wicked."

At this point, the Doctor crashed back into the TARDIS, cackling like a maniac. He ran up to Oswin and snogged her again, taking her aback as she responded.

"Down boy!" Oswin breathed. "One might think this would become a regular thing."

"You made them forget me!" he laughed. "All of them. All of the Daleks. The entirety of the Dalek race cannot remember that I exist. My greatest foes in the universe, my oldest enemies. They forced me to destroy my own people. And they can't remember who I am. Doctor Who? Doctor Who? HA!"

"Doctor Who?" Oswin asked, with a raised eyebrow and Amy and Rory both groaned.

"Exactly!" the Doctor replied, flicking Amy's nose with his finger as he passed and earning a look off her. "Right then, let's get the Ponds home, let's get Oswin de-nanogened and then I can go for drinks with Obama; he owes me a carrot, will owe me a carrot. Time travel eh?"

Rory and Amy exchanged a look. They didn't say anything as Oswin hung about awkwardly, examining the TARDIS console and gasping at every little thing. The Doctor dropped Amy and Rory off and they exchanged a few words as Oswin stayed in the TARDIS. When he came back inside, he shot her a warm smile and started tinkering with the controls.

"Your ship is a very odd shape," she informed him. "It's like the opposite of your chin." He frowned at this. "How do you fit it in places? I mean, Dalek ships aren't that big, I assume it just kind of teleports, but how do you know when you teleport it into a place that it will fit?"

The Doctor was laughing and grinning now and Oswin sensed that she had missed a trick. He shook his head and chuckled to himself. She heard the ship take off again and squealed and clung to a railing as it hurtled and scuttled about.

"It's a bit rubbish," she informed him over the rattling. "Your ship. Doesn't it have stabilisers?"

"Yes!" the Doctor replied, sounding defensive. "But I choose not to use them, much more fun, don't you think?"

Oswin had to agree with him on that front and suddenly they'd landed. She slipped and hit the floor with an unceremonious bump and he was offering out a hand to pick her up. Oswin refused the hand, propping herself up to a standing situation using the railing and winking at him before striding past him. The Doctor frowned and followed her as she walked over to the doors. She threw them open and stepped out into a hospital wing, with ten chambers lining the walls. She turned around to call the Doctor and that was when she realised. His ship. It was a blue box. And it was tiny. She touched the front doors, frowning, and the Doctor had the biggest smirk on his face. She ran all the way around, tapping every side of the box until she was back at the entrance. She stepped inside again and stared angrily at him.

"Go on," he grinned. "Say it."

She didn't give him the satisfaction. She could tell by the look on his face that people always said it and she wasn't going to let the smug prick get what he wanted. The Doctor may have saved her life, but he wasn't the boss of her and she wasn't going to let him think that he was. Instead, she strode out the ship and the Doctor followed her like a puppy.

"The TARDIS," he explained. "That's what it's called."

"I didn't ask," she responded stubbornly.

"You were wondering though."

"Nope," Oswin smiled politely at him and enjoyed the frustration on his face. "Not even a little bit. We're in some sort of space hospital right? So these will be decontamination chambers. How long do I have to stay in them for? Standard decons back on Earth tended to take twenty minutes but these nano genes are nasty blighters so I reckon two hours?"

"Well," the Doctor examined the nearest chamber, opening it with his screwdriver thing. He then ran the device over Oswin and frowned. "Judging by your level of exposure, plus the fact that it's been dormant, coupled with your height, weight, atom distribution, the power setting that is both safe and most effective and let me do the maths…two hours and three minutes."

"Told you!" Oswin winked and the Doctor grumbled. "Two hours."

"No!" he replied like a spoilt child. "Two hours and three minutes. The three minutes are critical."

"I doubt that."

"Highly critical."

"Still doubting it."

"The difference between your life and your death."

"Now you're just making things up."

The Doctor pouted. "Get in the chamber."

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Oswin stumbled out of the chamber, shivering slightly. She looked around but the Doctor as nowhere to be seen and his box was gone. He had left her behind. He'd gone. All of his talk, all of his words. He had promised to show her the stars, take her anywhere and everywhere. But he'd been lying and he'd dropped her off somewhere and he wasn't coming back for her. Oswin walked towards the door and stepped out. She was about to shut the door behind her when she heard it. The whining, groaning and she turned around to see the blue box materialising in front of her eyes. She squealed in delight and ran towards it and then remembered that the Doctor was inside and decided not to be too keen. She leaned against one of the chambers and when he exited the TARDIS, she took great care to examine the back of her hand in great detail.

"You took your time!" she accused and he looked incredibly flustered as he stumbled when walking towards her, panic evident on his face.

"Just be thankful that I made it back in time!" he laughed. "The Old Girl was being most unhelpful. Part of me suspects that she wanted to leave you behind."

"Eugh, you're one of those blokes!" Oswin rolled her eyes and he frowned. "The ones that think their machine is a woman and anthropomorphise their car. You're completely and utterly ridiculous, you realise that right?"

"The TARDIS is alive," the Doctor replied with a look of confusion. "She's got a matrix, a heart if you will. It's all very complicated and if I'd bothered to read the manual properly then maybe I'd be able to explain it better but I have a thing about instructions as they're usually wrong. The point is, the TARDIS has a mind of her own and if she doesn't want me to go somewhere, then chances are I won't be able to get her there."

"But you came back for me anyway," Oswin pointed out and he smiled at this.

"Of course I did, Oswin Oswald. I've left people behind before. Never again. I've seen what losing me does to people and I hate it."

"Arrogant much?" she snorted and the Doctor's face fell. "Oh my stars, Chin-Boy, I don't really care if you leave me behind but I'm not even on my own planet or in my own time zone. I'm sure I'd make do, but it's not exactly ideal is it?"

"I just meant…I mean people…but…shut up!"

The fact that he was so flustered made Oswin want to kiss him again. She liked this Doctor, this eccentric madman who was almost as smart as her and could show her all of time and space. Plus, he was kind of cute, the way he awkwardly stood, the way his hair flicked and the crazy style of clothes he wore. Oswin smoothed out her red dress and ran a hand through her tangled hair in what she hoped was an alluring manner. The more she flirted, the more uncomfortable the Doctor had got and she loved testing him. He was way too easy and way too much fun to wind up.

"So Chin-Boy," she said almost lazily, walking past him and into the box. "You promised me some stars."

"That I did Oswin Oswald," he replied casually. "Where would you like to start?"


	2. Chapter 2: Friends

***Bloody hell guys, I'm really sorry! I meant to post this chapter like 3 hours ago but life is crap and I've only just finished it. In any case, I hope you like it. I wanted to explore how the Oswin dynamic would affect the Doctor's thoughts and friendship with the Ponds and River and vice versa. I hope you like it! Thanks a lot to everyone who is reading, reviewing, following and favouriting this story, it means a lot to me. I'll try and get the next chapter up before Sunday night! TPD***

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The Doctor had been determined to not too attached to Oswin Oswald. After all, she wasn't a Pond. She could never compete with Amy and Rory. He would just take her on a couple of fun trips and then he could drop her back where she belonged in the 51st Century. And yet. As they ran down the corridors of a rundown, seemingly abandoned spaceship whilst being chased by androids, whose faces were painted on smiles and overwhelmingly sinister, all he could think about was the girl running beside him. Oswin was resourceful, funny and beautiful, so why was he trying so hard to detach himself from her? She had a crazy dress sense; today she was wearing a red tank top and beige shorts, with red trainers and her hair was half up and curly. She almost had her trademark smattering of red lipstick, which the Doctor hadn't even known was on the TARDIS, probably left behind by Amy at some point.

Oswin was dragging him by the hand, when all he wanted to do was shake her off so that he could dispatch the androids with his sonic. They were charging robotically behind them, the noises they made when their joints moved exceedingly unnerving but Oswin didn't seem fazed. Another reason to like this incredible girl. She suddenly stopped and yelled: "Duck!" and if the Doctor hadn't done so on instinct, he would have been hit in the face by whatever the hell she threw where his head had been moments earlier. The small object rolled towards the androids and they were engulfed by a shining blue light, that left them rolling around the floor, twitching occasionally but otherwise completely incapacitated. Oswin smirked and strode off down the corridor past the useless robots, and the Doctor gaped after her.

"Why the hell do you have EMP grenades?" he shot accusingly as he jogged to catch up with her. Oswin rolled her eyes at him and turned to face him, still skipping slightly as she moved gracefully down the corridor.

"They were in a box underneath the console," she reminded him with a wry smile and he stammered slightly as he tried to respond. "I thought they might be of use."

"I didn't say you could rummage around down there!" the Doctor snapped, straightening his bow tie furiously and stopping to put his hands on his hips. Oswin didn't stop moving, she just snorted at him.

"You didn't say I couldn't," she informed him in a sing-song voice that both angered the Doctor and made him want to smile. Exactly like he'd thought. Resourceful. "Now are you coming sweetie?"

"Don't call me that!" he said sharply and Oswin's eyebrow shot up as he tried to undo the damage with a tight smile.

"Sorrrry!" Oswin shook her head, less amused now and more put out. "Doctor."

The harsh tone with which she said his name made him want to wince and he raced off after her. He pulled on her shoulder and she stared at him, distaste evident on her face.

"I'm sorry Oswin," he said gently and she gave him her best bored face. "It's just that I have, had, I don't know any more in my life and she calls me sweetie and it just feels…weird coming from anyone else."

"Ohh you're hung up over an ex," Oswin still sounded miffed but at least now she wasn't glaring at him. "Well why didn't you say so?"

She was peeved and the Doctor knew that he'd have to try and get her back calm again or she'd never listen to him. And if she didn't bad things could happen. She'd stormed off down the corridor again and kicked the TARDIS doors angrily when she got there, turning back round to face him with a pissed off look on her face. The Doctor opened the doors and she swept past him inside.

"When are you going to give me a key?" she shot at him as she threw herself onto the seats, watching him all the way to the console.

"You don't need a key," the Doctor shot back. He couldn't just give her a key. That would make her a Pond. And she wasn't a Pond, she was just Oswin. She wouldn't be around long; there was no sense in getting attached to her. "Just one more trip or two and then you can go home."

"Oh so that's it!" Oswin laughed thickly and the Doctor frowned at her. "Chin, if you don't want me on your ship, then you might as well just drop me home now. I'm not here because I want you to feel obligated to take me places; I'm here to travel with you as a friend. I've not had a friend in a very long time, so forgive me if I'm not exactly great at it. But if you don't want me here, then I'm happy to go."

He stood, staring at her. She was standing now, with her hands on her hips, chewing on her bottom lip. It was a challenge, a question. Did he want her or not? The Doctor couldn't pretend that he didn't want her on the ship, but at the same time, she wasn't a Pond. And what about River? Maybe none of that mattered. It shouldn't matter, should it? The Doctor delved into his pocket and withdrew a TARDIS key. He threw it to Oswin, who caught it expertly, grinning at him and she gave a little laugh. She crossed the space between them and planted a kiss on his lips. He flailed and she stepped away from him, rolling her eyes.

"You really are going to have to work on your technique Chin," she ordered him as she returned to the seat and shot him her most dazzling smile. "It's horrendous. Did this ex teach you nothing?"

The Doctor didn't bother to correct her about River. He didn't know what River Song was to him or indeed where she was. He dreaded the idea of Oswin and River meeting, but equally, he liked Oswin and she was right, he couldn't just drop her home whenever he felt insecure about River. Either he wanted her on the TARDIS or he didn't. And if he was being honest then he did. He found the random outbursts of kissing incredibly frustrating, but that was just the way they were built. Oswin was very open and didn't care for social protocol, whereas the Doctor felt inherently awkward in such situations. He didn't want to ask her to stop either, because a part of him really enjoyed it.

"Your friends," Oswin said suddenly and the Doctor looked up from the dematerialising console to stare at her. "Nina and Pond. Why don't they travel with you all the time?"

The Doctor froze. How did he put into words his relationship with the Ponds?

"Because it's dangerous. The travelling. And they have lives, outside of this box. I can't keep dragging them along forever, as much as I want to. They have a house, a life, family, friends. I can't keep bringing them in, they'll give it up. Sooner or later."

"Is that why I'm here?" Oswin asked. "Am I a distraction? Someone to stave off the boredom until the Ponds get back?"

She was very perceptive, the Doctor noted. And very objectionable. But she was insecure as well, and the way the Doctor had been reacting to her had shaken her more than she was willing to let on. She was blunt, and that both threw him and was a nice change. He smiled at her warmly and her hard face softened slightly.

"I never know why," he reassured her. "I only know who. I like you Oswin, probably more than I'm willing to admit to myself. You're not a Pond placeholder, you are Oswin Oswald."

"Good," she smiled and it was an odd smile, because it was genuine. There was no sass or smirk behind it, it was a genuine, friendly smile. It suited her, the Doctor thought and Oswin stood, slapping him lightly on the arse as she stretched over the console to flick a few switches. The Doctor frowned and took over, watching Oswin closely.

"How did you do that?" he asked quietly and she shrugged.

"Genius, remember? I just watched you do it, it's not that hard to pick up."

The Doctor opened his mouth to argue, but Oswin had already stalked off, announcing that she was showering. The Doctor shook himself. River would be laughing at his awkwardness. She wouldn't even mind him travelling with Oswin, depending on where she was in her time stream. The Doctor hated thinking too much about River, as she might never turn up again. It had been a long time since he'd gone to Stormcage and he was more than happy to move on. Or was he? Oswin was unlike anyone he'd encountered, but she wasn't River, she didn't excite him the way River did, even if she knew how to fluster him.

The Doctor was still musing the River/Oswin puzzle, when she came out of the shower and into the console room, dressed only in a cream towel that barely covered her midriff. Oswin rolled her eyes as the Doctor ogled and she could see immediately how uncomfortable he was.

"Eyes front soldier," she warned him as he tried to focus on her dripping wet hair, which she was towelling with a second, also cream towel. "Sorry about the mess I made in the shower, I dye my roots. But don't tell!" she whispered as though it was some huge secret and the Doctor straightaway felt scandalous. "So Chin Boy, where to next?

"I was thinking Italy? In the Year 2342? Cyborg town, you'll bloody love it."

"Sounds awesome, anything to hack?"

At that moment, the Doctor had an ingenious thought.

"Oswin!" he beamed. "You know you deleted me from the Dalek databanks?"

"Yes…" she smirked.

"Would you fancy helping me do it again…?"

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Amy had grown to stop living for the days when the Doctor came. But she still got a real kick out of hearing the materialising TARDIS. She took the stairs two at a time, shouting Rory's name before remembering that he was working. Giggling to herself, Amy threw open the front door and the Doctor was stood there a lazy arm around the girl from the Dalek Asylum, Oswin, Amy thought her name was. She was wearing a leather jacket and a short crimson skirt and she had a grin on her face. Amy tried not to let her smile fall at the sight of Oswin, but she was slightly disappointed that the Doctor hadn't come alone.

"Pond, you remember Oswin, Oswin, you remember Pond?"

"Charmed," Amy smiled falsely and Oswin stretched out a hand. Amy shook it and the Doctor beamed obliviously.

"Excellent, where's Rory?" the Doctor looked around, as if Rory was going to magically appear. "Oh don't tell me he's at that job thing he has sometimes?"

Oswin snorted and the Doctor nudged her with his elbow. Amy immediately felt spiky towards her but tried not to let herself get jealous, as it didn't suit her. She had chosen to spend less time with the Doctor, what did it matter to her who he was travelling with?

"He finishes work at ten," Amy informed the Doctor. "Come back in a few hours."

Amy wasn't sure if to be upset or not, but Oswin and the Doctor had changed clothes between their visits. That meant that they had clearly been somewhere in the meantime. Oswin was shivering and Amy raised an eyebrow at this, to which the Doctor explained: "We just went to visit the Sun Gods of Nakavue VI."

"Show off wanted to fly the TARDIS into the heart of the temple and earn himself the status as the twelfth Sun God," Oswin laughed. "I may have leant on the helmic regulator."

"I thought you said you didn't!" he said forlornly.

"I lied."

"Aha Doctor," Amy took him to one side, leaving Oswin on the doorstep. "How long have you been travelling with her?"

"Since the Asylum," the Doctor said with a casual shrug.

"And how long has that been for you?"

"The same length as it has been for you," he told her quietly and Amy frowned. It had been almost three months since the Asylum. Three months of Oswin. He looked uncomfortable all of a sudden and Oswin cleared her throat. The Doctor turned and invited her in and Amy immediately felt tense. Had she been replaced by someone younger with skinnier legs?

The Doctor took them to Rastafell XV, the planet of ultimate leisure. It was a nice relaxing day out but Amy couldn't focus on it. All she was doing was watching the Doctor and Oswin. He was very different around her, Amy thought, like he was somehow out of his element. She didn't take any of his crap and called him up on things that even Amy would never have done. When the day was over, he dropped them both home and before he had a chance to go off with Oswin, she cornered him.

"So Oswin," she asked tensely. "What is she now? Is she like us?"

"No!" he insisted, but it looked as though he was having a hard time convincing himself. "She's not you. She's not a Pond. She's just a person. She's just…Oswin. Amy, I promise you, she's not a replacement. I just like having her around, that's all."

Amy was somewhat sceptical of the Doctor's claims. Then he was gone, and she didn't know when she'd see him again. Fortunately, she didn't have to wait long, as it was only a week before he pitched up again, this time without Oswin in tow. He was grinning at her like a maniac and Amy couldn't help but feel special.

"Where's Oswin?" she asked with a smirk.

"Dropped her home for a couple of days, so her family and friends could find out that she didn't die in the crash!" the Doctor informed her. "I told her I wanted some alone time with you, because I was worried that you felt bad. So, here I am for you and Rory. I was thinking New York, what do you reckon?"

Amy smiled. "New York sounds wonderful."


	3. Chapter 3: Just Being There

***Hey guys! Another Oswin Oswald chapter for you today and this picks up almost directly where the last one left off, from Oswin's perspective. I'm going to try and alternate perspectives a bit but it'll probably end up being mostly Oswin. I still have absolutely no idea how long this story is going to be, but chapters will be between 2 and 3 thousand words in general. So maybe 10/15 chapters? At a guess? I know roughly where I want to go with it. As ever, thanks for reading, reviewing, following and favouriting and thanks to whouffletothemax for the prompt! I hope you enjoy this chapter and please please review and let me know your thoughts! Next chapter should be up before Wednesday. TPD***

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Oswin had been dead for over a year. It was an odd feeling, when you'd been assumed dead, to step out of a blue box and back into the lives of everyone who thought that you were dead. Her dad, her friends, they had all heard the news of course. That the Alaska had gone down, communications had gone and their last mayday signalled that they were heading for a crash landing. It had been assumed that there were no survivors. Well there were no survivors, except Oswin. Part of her was hoping that the Doctor would stay and help her explain, but then she didn't need his help, which is exactly what she told him when he offered. So he whizzed off, promising to come back in a few days. Oswin wasn't sure if he was telling the truth or not. A couple of months ago, she would have been convinced that the Doctor had no intention of coming back for her. But they had developed a rapport; one might even say a friendship, though Oswin wasn't sure. He would come back for her, she was sure of it. Just as she'd been sure that someone would get her off the Asylum.

She didn't have to lie in her story, as most of what happened was true. She'd been stuck on the planet where the Alaska crashed for over a year, until another vessel arrived to rescue her. That same vessel had then brought her home, and over the three months that it had taken to get back (this part Oswin was most definitely toying with the truth), she and the man had become good friends and were going off travelling together.

She couldn't believe how glad her father had been to see her. He had pulled Oswin into a hug so tight that she was surprised he ever let go. And he had cried. She hadn't seen her father cry since the funeral. Oswin had cried that day too, it was the day she had decided that she wanted off Earth and that she wanted to go and see the universe. And she was so glad that she had managed it. She would never admit it to him, but a year in the Asylum would be worth a lifetime of the Doctor. She found Nina and Angie and all her other friends from home and told them her story and how she was going back off to see the universe. They were all so jealous and excited, but in truth, her days at home felt slightly hollow. All her friends had long since accepted they would never see her again, so for her to come home, only to leave again, seemed cold. Oswin knew that her father wanted her to stay, but she also knew that she had left for a reason. They had all made peace with her leaving before and they had made peace with her death. She really just wanted them to know that she was alive, and that she would be having the time of her life.

On her third day back home, Oswin began to expect the Doctor. She packed up her little apartment with all the clothes and gear she had left. She wasn't going to sell it, in case she ever came back but she had left some of her mum's stuff the last time she had left and she had also left her favourite dress, black with red trim. She changed into the dress, packed up the rest of her gear and waited. The Doctor knew exactly where she lived, so there was no reason that he wouldn't return for her. And yet, he didn't. Not straight away at least. The third day came to a close and Oswin went to bed. But she couldn't sleep. She lay awake in bed, staring at the ceiling, waiting, hoping, praying for that stupid blue box to make its whooshing sound and appear somewhere nearby. Hell, he could park it in her bedroom if he wanted to. As long as he came back for her.

On the fourth day, Oswin began to get agitated. He had said two or three days, four tops. But as the fourth day dragged on and on and Oswin found herself increasingly frustrated and increasingly bored, she began to face up to the prospect of never seeing the Doctor again. It was stupid and she knew it was stupid. But he had dangled the whole of time and space in front of her, like a carrot and she had been so willing to gobble it up that she hadn't even considered that the lying bastard would leave her behind. She knew that he had been tempted, once upon a time, but the last three months had been the best of Oswin's life. And she wasn't ready to give that up.

On the fifth day of her return, she went out for dinner with some friends and they asked her why she hadn't gone off travelling yet with her new mystery friend. The mocking tone was very subtle, but Oswin knew it was there. She informed them that he was running a bit late, but the words sounded empty, even to her. They pitied her, she knew that. She also knew that she wasn't the same girl who had left on the Alaska. She was brash, harsh and often took them aback by the way she said things. She didn't care too much about pushing them away, but it would be useful to have some friends, in case the Doctor didn't come back.

A week she had decided. She would give him a week and then she would shut him out completely and move on with her life. She would get a job, find some new friends and start to go on living her life. She could not live for the Doctor forever. So she gave him a week.

It was on the seventh day, almost a week to the minute since he'd dropped her off, when Oswin had completely lost hope, that she heard it. The groaning, wheezing noise that signified that the TARDIS was coming in to land. She was on her feet in an instant and she took the stairs in her flat three at a time, almost slipping and breaking her ankle but managing to keep her balance as she threw open the front door and stepped out into the street. The TARDIS had just finished materialising and the doors crashed open. Oswin crossed her arms, put on her best angry face and tried not to show her overwhelming relief as she demanded to know:

"Where the hell have you been…?"

She trailed off, as the Doctor that stumbled out of the TARDIS was not the Doctor that she knew. Well he was, in appearance at least, but he was different, she could see instantly. He was broken. He looked up and saw her and then he ran towards her and Oswin didn't know what to say as he barrelled into her, sobbing. Oswin took a step back, letting him cry on her. She didn't know what to do, this was an entirely new thing for her. She should pat his back, that was what people did, wasn't it? Oswin patted the Doctor's back and decided that guiding him inside was the best course of action. The TARDIS doors had swung shut of their own accord and Oswin shot a guilty look back at the machine as she helped the Doctor inside her tiny little flat and put the kettle on. He was positively shell-shocked, like all the light had gone out of his eyes. Tea and patting on the back was a good start, but Oswin was worried that this might end in an emotion conversation and she hated emotional conversations.

"Umm…" she handed him his tea and he looked up at her, eyes wide and cold. "Did you break the helmic regulator?"

And then, something magical happened. He laughed. It was a short laugh and more of a bark than anything else, but it was genuine. And for a brief moment, he was the Doctor that she knew and liked. Then, the laugh died away and he returned to this mask of depression.

"They're dead Oswin," he said suddenly. "Amy and Rory. The Ponds. They're dead."

Oswin knew how he felt in that moment. When she had lost her mum, it felt like her entire world was going to collapse around her. It had felt as though no matter how hard she tried, she would never be happy again and his pain was the worst kind of pain that there was.

"They've been my best friends for over three hundred years and now they're gone."

Yowsa. That was a very long time. They didn't even look that old. He didn't even look that old. But they'd had that conversation before. He'd told her he was over a 1000 years old, that his people were dead and that he had two hearts. She'd called him a buzzkill and asked what that did to the blood flow to his sex organs. That had well and truly thrown him. She didn't want to throw him now. The Doctor and Oswin didn't do hugging as a general rule. It was far too intimate for her and there was an unwritten rule between them that hugs were for special occasions. Snogging, hell yeah, she was always up for a snog. But snogs were fun, casual, they didn't express the same emotion that a hug did. Nevertheless, Oswin hugged him now, pulling him in with her arms, wrapping them around him and squeezing him tightly, trying to convey her understanding of his pain. It was an odd moment between them and Oswin found it a tad awkward, but it seemed to be reassuring him, so she carried on for his sake. Then, she broke the hug and he followed suit, slumping back in his chair. He looked…better. She hoped. It was hard to tell.

"Thank you Oswin," he said quietly.

"What for?" she asked breezily.

"Being here for me," he replied. "River Song, that's my…thing. She's Amy and Rory's daughter. And she was there. She had to lose her parents with me and she suggested that I find someone to travel with. I told her I didn't need to find anyone, I already had an amazing person waiting for me to pick them up."

Oswin found herself blushing and kicked herself. He hadn't even noticed, he was too busy staring at his feet. She put a hand on his shoulder in what she hoped was a reassuring manner and he managed to smile slightly at her.

"I can't see her anymore," he murmured and Oswin frowned. "She reminds me too much of them. Besides, she was older. I think it's time I let her go to the Library."

"The Library? What's that, some care facility for older ex-girlfriends?" Oswin teased and the Doctor grinned at her now, a welcome sight on his tear-stained face.

"You've been there you liar," he responded. "I checked the Alaska's records; you've been to the Library."

"Oh, you mean THE Library," Oswin giggled. "What's that place got to do with anything?"

"That's where I lose River Song," the Doctor sighed. "She gets uploaded to the Library data base, saving my life and the lives of over 4000 people."

"Bummer," Oswin muttered. "So what you're just not going to see her anymore?"

"Time travel," the Doctor informed her. "I don't need to see River Song again and she'll only remind me of the Ponds. We were married you know, are married…complicated. Though I suppose strictly speaking, she married a robot version of me in a universe that never existed, so if you're worried about it it's not strictly a legal marriage…"

"Why would I be worried about it? Who you marry is your business!" Oswin snorted. She had absolutely no intention of letting the Doctor think that she had those kinds of feelings for him. He was cute alright and a great guy, but she had zero interest in being another River Song. Whoever River Song was.

"Quite." The Doctor seemed agitated. "I'm sorry for this Oswin. I promised to show you the stars and here I am, late and crying."

"Oh don't worry about it," Oswin waved it away. The casual approach was always the best approach in her view. "I'm sure you'll make it up to me somehow Chin-Boy. Anyway, I know what it's like to lose someone close to you. To not know how to cope. To…need someone."

Oswin turned away from the Doctor. She tried not to open up too much, but she found herself opening up nevertheless. She thought back to those weeks with Nina, where she had been the only thing keeping Oswin going. Nina had been so many things for Oswin, a crush, a friend, a lover and after her mum died, Nina had become an emotional crutch. Oswin loathed the idea of being an emotional crutch, but if the Doctor was going to show her the universe and Oswin did want to see the universe, then she would have to deal with it. Anyway, she did care for him, although she'd never admit it.

"Your mum?" the Doctor asked gently and Oswin's eyes flashed with anger as she turned back to him.

"I don't talk about my mum!" she snapped. "Not ever. Do you understand? She died, that's all there is to it."

The Doctor nodded. He didn't press her further, like Oswin had half expected him to. He was very good at that. Understanding. Caring. Things that she rarely did anymore. A year with the Daleks had taken caring off of the table for her. Three months with the Doctor had at least made her care more. But how much more, Oswin wasn't yet sure. She didn't say anything to him, she took his empty tea mug and chucked it into the sink. She could feel his eyes, watching her.

"Doctor," she said softly, or about as softly as she could manage. He was still looking at her when she walked back to him, his eyes never leaving her for a moment. Oswin took a deep breath. "I'm sorry about your friends."

"So am I Oswin," he said in a heartbroken voice that she knew only too well. "So am I."


	4. Chapter 4: World War III

***Hey guys, chapter 4 time! So this chapter really deals with the development of the Doctor and Oswin's relationship now that the Ponds are out of the picture and I'm trying really to get a sense of Oswin's reintegration into life after the Asylum, which obviously is tricky. I really hope you enjoy it! Anyway, next chapter should be up either on or before Saturday, I'll try to get it up soon as! Thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed, followed and favourited! Speak soon! TPD***

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"A spa?" Oswin asked incredulously, looking around with crossed arms and a raised eyebrow. "You promise me the whole of time and space and you bring me to a beauty salon and spa? What kind of girly girl do you think I am Chin?"

"I didn't bring us here for you!" he shot back. "How do you think this quiff stays in such perfect condition?" Oswin giggled at this. "Although now that you mention it, you could do with some care to that pasty skin of yours and don't even get me started on those split ends…" Oswin picked at her hair and blushed. "If it bothers you that much, feel free to wait for me in the TARDIS!"

Now that she was here, Oswin had to admit that a massage sounded wonderful. But judging by the smug, daring look on his face, he expected her to give in. Oswin turned on her heels and stalked back to the TARDIS, chin in the air, a smirk on her face as she imagined the look on his. It had been six months since the Asylum, three months since the Doctor had lost the Ponds and he was back to his usual cheery self. At least he pretended to be. She could see in his eyes that he was not the same person. He had a darker edge to him since what Oswin had termed: New York. He was angry more often and a lot less forgiving. He rarely snapped at Oswin, but she supposed that was because she was his lifeline. She worried what he would be like without her there to keep an eye on him. Still, she supposed, he wasn't going to tear the heads of anyone in a glorified hairdressers was he?

Oswin unlocked the TARDIS doors and slipped inside, patting the outside of the box as she stepped inside. The Doctor's habit of treating it like a person was rubbing off on her, she decided and shook herself. It was just a box. She went to shower and tried to relax as the hot water crashed over her. Travelling with the Doctor had been the best six months of her life and she never wanted it to end. But there were times when she felt like his babysitter. She was still getting used to the whole friend thing and she had to keep reminding herself that she had to be nice to him occasionally, especially when he was feeling vulnerable. That was one thing she still didn't like dealing with…vulnerability.

She dressed quickly, going with her camo coloured top and blue jeans. There were times when Oswin Oswald dressed to kill and there were times when Oswin Oswald dressed like she was going killing. This was the latter. She was a lot less adverse to blowing things up than the Doctor was, one of the many things about her that she sensed frustrated him. She tied her hair up into a bun, frowning slightly at the split ends. Whatever, she'd chop them off in a couple of days, when the Doctor had forgotten he'd mentioned it.

Oswin returned to the console room and the Doctor was waiting for her, twirling and spinning in that flamboyantly annoying, yet oddly attractive way that he did. He went to tap her on the nose and she caught his hand in mid-air, her lips twitching upwards. He frowned, for just a moment, before regaining his composure. Oswin released his hand as she saw a flicker in his eyes. A flicker that she didn't like, but didn't want to question.

"How do I look?" he asked with a cheeky grin, giving her a full 360 degree spin before raising out his arms openly, inviting her to compliment him.

"Exactly the same," Oswin replied wearily, allowing herself no more than a hint of a smile at his crestfallen face. "As dapper as ever," she said sweetly. It didn't hurt to compliment him occasionally. Oswin really did like the Doctor and as much as she liked to keep him on edge, she also wanted him to realise that she did care for him.

"Thanks," he replied, unsure of himself. That was one of the perks of being so volatile with him at times. Whenever she did genuinely compliment him, he didn't know how to react. "So, where do you want to go Soufflé Girl?"

"I've told you to stop calling me that," she laughed. She loved it really.

"And I told you to stop calling me Chin or Chin-Boy or any other Chin related names!" he shot back. He was finally getting better at riposting with Oswin, which made it ten times more fun. She didn't feel quite so much like she was kicking a puppy. "But there's not a cat's chance in hell of that happening, is there Soufflé Girl? So, where are we going?"

"I don't know," she replied, willing to let him lead for once. "Somewhere with lots of guns and loud noises. As long as you promise not to jump like a baby again!"

"One time!" the Doctor snapped. "You jump when someone lets off a firecracker behind you and you're branded a baby for life! Fine, Oswin Oswald, you asked for it. Loud noises, lots of guns, World War III it is."

"Studied that in school," Oswin replied lazily. "The Brits won didn't they?"

"Wars aren't just about the outcome," the Doctor replied quietly. "They're about the people. The people who die for the cause. We're going to the British Imperial Command Tent, so you can see for yourself what it's like to play such a part. I'm glad you dressed the part," he added with a small smirk. Oswin looked down at herself and tried to work out if he was insulting her or not.

"Well if I'd known that we were going to see men in uniform," she simmered coyly. "I would have made much more an effort. I love me a man in uniform, they're so…suave and sexy."

"I can be suave," the Doctor shot back, flipping switches as the TARDIS lurched through the vortex. "You'll see."

"Honey, you wouldn't know suave if it danced circles around you and then rapped you on that bloody great chin of yours," Oswin informed him. "Stick to flying, it's what you're good at." The Doctor shot her a look. "Some of the time," she qualified mainly to see his face fall.

The TARDIS landed and Oswin stepped in front of the Doctor to step out first. She stepped into a haze, the air thick with dust and sulphur. There was an explosion about five feet to her left and rapid gunfire sounded. She screamed and threw herself back into the TARDIS as a hail of bullets whizzed past her shoulder.

"What's the matter?" the Doctor asked her, stepping out with a very smug look on his face. "Don't like the loud noises?"

Oswin scowled at him. She had nearly been shot and he was making jokes at her expense? It occurred to her that maybe he wasn't the only one rubbing off on her. Maybe it was happening vice versa. The Doctor took a very deep breath, smelling the air which Oswin had been loath to do, closing her nostrils as much as she could.

"Smell that?" he asked, looking back at her invitingly as Oswin tentatively stepped out into the warzone. "That's the smell of death Oswin Oswald. Get used to it, it clings to you. Once you've diced with death, you can never really get the stench off of you. Travelling with me, it's only a matter of time until the stench of death is clinging to your bones."

His ability to go from hyperactive ten year old to morbid old man in a matter of seconds was terrifying. He had a look on his face, like he'd seen this before. And too much of it. Oswin suddenly felt guilty for being harsh on him and linked arms with him, a subtle but uncharacteristic gesture to let him know that she was there for him. She hated letting her guard down for anyone, but for the Doctor, she was increasingly making an exception. She didn't even mind all that much, it was nice to able to bond with someone after so long in the Asylum, even if she couldn't call what she and the Doctor had quite as bonding. He smiled at her, clearly not expecting the arm link. He nodded in the direction opposite the explosion and they walked arm in arm across the battlefield.

They were on the outskirts of the battle, the Doctor informed her and the battle was the battle of Lyon. Oswin had studied this battle in great detail. The French and German Combined Forces had been pressed back to the borders and to the south by the Anglo-American troops and Lyon had been a slaughter. The Doctor informed her that they were on the British side of the battlefield, where only the odd stray mortar strike or occasional French raiding party penetrated the British lines. Oswin was eager to see the British Command Tent and it was only five minutes of walking through the charred remnants of the city, with its dilapidated buildings and toxic atmosphere before they came upon the Brits Military Mobile Command Unit, or as Oswin had always known it, the MMCU. She had loved studying it as a child and it felt both incredibly weird and exhilarating to be here in person.

The Doctor strolled past the soldiers on the doors to the tent, flashing his psychic paper. He strode right into the MMCU and Oswin allowed herself a gasp. She was in the presence of three of the greatest military minds in British history. They were known as the three Wills, because they were all called William and they constantly changed their names around, so nobody knew which Will was which. Two of them were tall and stocky, one shorter and leaner, one of the taller ones had sandy coloured hair and all three had impressive facial hair. The Doctor could seriously learn from their facial hair, Oswin remarked, but didn't say out loud. They all stared in unison and Oswin bowed respectfully, without even meaning to. The Doctor shook his head.

"I'm General John Smith from the Anglo-American Military Sphere of Control," he spouted. "Most people call me the Doctor, it's all very top secret. This is my assistant, Miss Oswin Oswald. I find good assistants are hard to find, but Miss Oswald's secrecy is highly valued."

"Why am I the assistant?" she muttered in an undertone. "Because I'm a girl?"

"No!" the Doctor seemed incredulous at the idea. "Because it's my psychic paper. But mainly because you were rude about my chin. I have to get payback somehow."

Damn him. Oswin kicked him gently, smiling opaquely at the three Wills, who had varying reactions. Sandy haired Will was smiling, clearly enjoying their dynamic, shorter Will was glaring suspiciously and the other Will was frowning, as if trying to remember if they were supposed to be there.

"Sorry, but can I just say this is an honour?" Oswin blurted. "I mean I'm not normally the fangirling type, but you three are probably the best three man team in military history. Your tactics are legendary and the Franco-German forces never stood a chance!"

"Aha the war isn't won yet my dear," Sandy Will chuckled. "But thanks for the support."

"Can I see you credentials?" Short Will asked angrily. "Why exactly are you here?"

"Oh, no specific reason!" the Doctor chuckled, handing over the psychic paper as the three Wills poured over it. "The AAMSC just wanted me to check in as it were. Nothing to worry about."

All three men stared at him. Other Will's face lit up, Sandy Will's face fell and Short Will pulled out his gun, and moved towards the Doctor, who put his hands up worryingly. Oswin stepped forwards, putting herself between the Doctor and Short Will, holding her hands out in front of her.

"Put the gun down," she said very calmly. "You really thought psychic paper would work on these three? Seriously?"

"Who are you?" Short Will demanded. "What are you here for?"

"Would you relax?" Other Will stepped in, lowering Short Will's gun arm and earning him a look off of his partner. "This is the Doctor. He's a legend, didn't you hear about him at the Academy? Seriously, the Doctor?"

"He's a legend?" Oswin snorted. "Blimey, you lot really need to change your description of legend…"

"He's woven throughout history," Sandy Will took over. "A hero to some, a villain to others, but death and destruction are always there and thereabouts. He's a time traveller, but he never travels alone, does he Miss Oswald?"

"Apparently not!" Oswin replied delicately, relieved that the situation had seemingly calmed down. "Apologies for the intrusion, I asked for guns and loud noises and this one put two and two together and made four. Seriously though, huge fan."

"Spoilers," the Doctor muttered as Oswin blushed. "Yes gentlemen, I'm the Doctor, no I'm not here to interfere with your wonderful murdering, sorry I mean war. Oswin here wanted to see humanity rip itself apart and frankly I can't resist her charm, look at her, she's already wearing camouflage."

"Shut up!" Oswin put her finger to his lips. "So this is just, wow. You three, look at you. I just need to know, for the sake of my humanity, which one of you is which? Because history…you always lie and twist and I just…which one of you is Smith, which is Jones and which is Bramble?"

"I'm Smith." They all said it simultaneously and Oswin's face fell. The Doctor laughed and threw a lazy arm around her shoulders. She let it stay there for a couple of seconds before stepping to the side and he almost fell over. Sandy Will snorted. Short Will was still glaring.

"Anyway, gentlemen," the Doctor laughed. "This has most definitely been an experience and I'm very glad that young Oswin here could meet her heroes but we have to go. Other military encampments to break into and all that," he shook their hands one after the other, even Short Will who was decidedly less enthusiastic than the other two. Then, they left the tent and Oswin punched the Doctor on the arm playfully, earning her his biggest puppy dog look. They made their way back to the TARDIS, and the Doctor was being odd around her.

"What is it?" Oswin sighed, shooting him a questioning look. "You're being weird. Why?"

"Nothing," he said tentatively, but she sensed he was going to tell her anyway, so she slowly raised an eyebrow. "It's just…you would have taken a bullet for me back there."

Oswin found herself going red. She shook her head. "No!" she shot back. "I would have dived out the way if he'd pulled the trigger."

"Liar."

"You're my lift home, I couldn't let you get shot and I knew I was better equipped to stop him pulling the trigger, that's all."

"You're lying to me Oswin Oswald."

"No, I'm not. I don't care for you at all, I swear!"

"Oswin…" his smirk had completely disappeared now and he was smiling delicately at her, as though she was the most precious thing in the world. Nobody had looked at Oswin like that in a very long time, she wasn't sure that she liked it. She smiled back nervously, unsure where this was going. "Thank you." He leaned in and kissed her cheek. This was different, this wasn't the lustful kisses that Oswin was used to. This was emotional, expressing his thanks, but more than that. Oswin felt him pull her into a hug and squirmed awkwardly before hugging him back. As much as she hated hugs, he was bloody good at them, that much she had to admit.

"Any time," she replied in a slightly shaky voice. The Doctor smiled at her again and walked off across the console room. Oswin let out a breath she hadn't even realised she'd been holding. What on earth had just happened?


	5. Chapter 5: A Night To Remember

***Hey troops, I meant to update before now, but here we go. Oswin Oswald is back. This chapter is a great one for me personally, because it reflects the many different elements going on in the Doctor and Oswin's relationship. It's from Oswin's perspective, but I've tried to make it to obvious to everyone except Oswin exactly what is going on. I hope you like it! As ever, thanks to everyone who reads, reviews, follows and favourites. Next chapter will hopefully be Monday :) TPD***

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It took Oswin a couple of weeks to notice the way that the Doctor had shifted his behaviour, but once she had, it was impossible not to notice it. He had become somewhat more reckless than usual and a lot brasher. But simultaneously, he had started acting differently towards Oswin. More flustered than ever, but also sweeter. Oswin wasn't sure what to make of it. Things between them were increasingly confusing her and it was frustrating because the shifts in his temper were becoming alarming.

Things came to a head almost a month after World War III. She wasn't sure where he was taking her but he had promised her a day trip to somewhere fancy, so to dress up nicely. Oswin spent ages getting ready, because she did like to look nice on occasion. As much as she loved the rough and tumble of life with the Doctor, every now and then, it was nice to dress up and feel beautiful, as opposed to the ponytails and the camo jeans. She curled her hair into tight, barrelled curls and wore a long, crimson dress, the deepest shade of red. It was strapless and barely reached her knees. She wore matching red heels and applied blood red lipstick and eye shadow. She found a perfect pair of earrings and a handbag to match. She barely recognised herself in the mirror and smiled as she heard the Doctor knocking on her door.

"Come in!" she called, applying mascara and twirling round to grin at him. He was looking very dapper, with his best black suit and his hair perfectly quiffed. "New bow tie?" she asked, her voice teasing him. To his credit, he didn't get flustered, but beamed at her.

"You noticed?" he sounded like a child happy that his mother had spotted his artwork pinned to the fridge and he straightened the aforementioned dickey bow.

"Of course I noticed!" Oswin smiled at him, a genuine smile for once that lit up her face. "How could I miss it? That bow tie is 50 shades of grey. And no, that's not a good thing."

She hid her face from him so that he couldn't see her holding in her giggles. He was trying to work out what was wrong with his bow tie. Bless him. Oswin examined herself once more in the mirror. She took a deep breath and turned back to face the Time Lord, who was still musing the bow tie conundrum. He smiled at Oswin, and she resisted the urge to blush when his eyes started roaming.

"Like what you see Chin-Boy?" Oswin smirked.

"Yes…I mean no. I mean…you look wonderful Oswin. Are you ready to go?"

"Yep," she grabbed her bag. "But where exactly are we going? You never said…"

"I'm aware," the Doctor replied with a grin. "It's a surprise. I'm surprising you Oswin Oswald. Do you like surprises?"

"The first time you ever surprised me was by rescuing me from that accursed asylum!" Oswin pointed out. "You can surprise me any time you want…Doctor." She only rarely used his name, and it made him blush when she did. She was feeling nice this evening, maybe it was because he was taking her somewhere fancy or maybe she just felt guilty for how sweet he'd been acting towards her, fairly unreciprocated at times.

"Good, I mean I will…" he was blushing again and Oswin rolled her eyes at him, guiding him through the console room. "I took the liberty of keeping her stationary whilst you changed, didn't want a sudden bout of turbulence to ruin your makeup." See, sweet, Oswin told herself. Why was he being like that? "Off we go then."

The second the TARDIS touched down, the Doctor was racing over to the doors. Oswin strode after him as he threw them open and she stepped out into a ballroom, so huge it looked like they were in a castle. The pillars on the walls were intricately designed and the ceiling was patterned so ornately, it must have taken years to perfect. There were couples everywhere, dancing and singing and sharing stories, clusters of individuals chatting away and the Doctor was already throwing himself into it, dragging over a couple of individuals to talk to Oswin. A waiter walked past with flutes of champagne and Oswin gratefully accepted one, sliding the crisp, golden fluid down her throat. She could get used to this kind of luxury.

"Miss Oswin Oswald, I would like to introduce you to His Royal Highness Sven, King of Denmark and his gorgeous wife Queen Anna. They are here on a hunting retreat, here in the Swiss Alps. Old friends of mine."

"The Doctor stopped our Kingdom from falling into the hands of some very nasty creatures," King Sven explained, stepping in to kiss Oswin's hand. "What were they called again Doctor? Cybermen?" The Doctor nodded. "Anyway, he is always welcome to the Royal Court. And so are you by proxy Miss Oswald. You look delightful this evening, might I add?"

Oswin grinned and blushed and the Doctor gave her his smuggest look, so she merely curtsied and grabbed another glass of champagne. The Doctor was raising an eyebrow and then suddenly, he had pulled her out into the middle of the dance floor. Oswin almost spilled her champagne and shot him her prize glare. He took the champagne flute off her and flung it over his left shoulder. She was torn between giggling and looking scandalised and opted for a bit of both as he took her hands in his. His hands were rough, like a blacksmiths. They reminded Oswin of a man that she used to know, long ago, back before the Alaska. Back before all of that. He led her on the dance, gently at first, then suddenly quicker. She gasped as he twirled her, picking her up and down, guiding her one way and then the other. He knew what he was doing, which surprised her. What surprised her more was the intimacy that the dance was conveying and she felt very awkward and wanted to say something to him.

As the dance finished, Oswin went to get more alcohol, thoroughly confused by what had just happened. The Doctor was making all these sweet, intimate gestures to Oswin and she didn't know how to respond. She didn't have those kinds of feelings for him and doubted she ever would. Yet was that what he was trying to transmit? Or was he merely trying to be nice to her, to make up for all the times he threw himself into danger, nearly killing himself? She needed to clear her head, so she asked one of the waiters where the balcony was and excused herself, standing out on the wooden panels, watching the snow fall gently onto the snow-capped mountains.

That was when she heard it. The gunfire. She ducked low and pinned herself to the wall next to the door as she peaked in. Three men. With sub-automatic machine guns. Heavy duty machinery. What were they after? She heard the Doctor talking and a gun went off. Oswin screamed and threw herself out into the room. A hand was on her neck and the nuzzle of a gun was pressed to her. She grabbed the gun and flipped the man over her shoulder, pointing the gun at him as he tried to clamber to his feet. The other two men had the Doctor and Sven, pointing their guns at them. Oswin swore and pointed her gun at the third man.

"What do you want?" she demanded.

"Put the gun down love, we're only here for the King. You and your good Samaritan boyfriend here are worthless, but we don't want to shoot you unless we have to."

"Fat chance of that," Oswin muttered. "The Doctor wouldn't let you get away with this and neither will I." She fired the gun. The Doctor ducked but the bullet was already whizzing past his shoulder into the hand of the soldier who didn't get the chance to fire the trigger. The Doctor was already sonicing, disabling the weapon of the third and final soldier.

"You could have killed him!" he shouted to Oswin.

"But I didn't!" she shot back, not taking her eyes off the soldiers for a second as Sven ducked away from the third soldier, who had gone to check on his stricken colleague. "So get all the Royals out of here. Quickly!"

The Doctor nodded quickly and ushered all of the Danish royals out of the building as Oswin pointed the only working gun at the three soldiers. Her heart was pounding like a jackhammer and she could barely breathe. She couldn't let them see how nervous she was. She doubted she'd be able to pull the trigger again. The Doctor returned a moment later, eyeing up the gun distastefully. Oswin could see the way he was looking at it and rolled her eyes.

"Would you relax Chin, it's not as if I'm going to shoot anyone. Are the royals clear?"

The Doctor didn't respond. He grabbed the man wounded by the scruff of his neck and dragged him to his feet into the TARDIS. Oswin kept the gun trained on the other two as she followed him into the box and shut the doors behind her. The Doctor shot her a look and she shrugged.

"I'm going to stitch up this idiot's hand and then throw him out to join his friends. The local authorities are on their way, armed, not that they'll need to be. The other two guns are useless. You were really reckless out there Oswin."

"So were you."

"I'm allowed to be reckless."

"I noticed," she snapped. "You've been doing it a lot lately. Are you deliberately trying to show off or do you just have a death wish? I'm getting fucking sick of having to pick up your mess. You're welcome by the way, for saving your ungrateful life."

"I didn't ask you to!"

"You didn't have to!" Oswin was angry now. "That's what I'm here for you moron. You!" she pointed the gun at the soldier. "Your hand's fine. Get the fuck out!" He scrambled away and out the doors, whimpering and Oswin hurled her full attention on the Doctor, throwing away the gun and storming so they were millimetres apart. "I am not going to let you kill yourself because you miss Amy and Rory, so yes I'm going to save your ungrateful life each and every time. If you can't handle that…"

He shut her up by kissing her. Oswin was shocked, she was usually the instigator of their casual snogs. This felt different, but she translated her anger at him to passion. She ripped off his jacket and pressed him backwards. He was already working his way out of his shirt and she pressed her hands to his muscular chest. She liked what she saw. Her hands slid down to his length and she gripped it as they stumbled backwards.

"Down boy," she whispered when she realised how hard he was. "There's such a thing as too keen." Before he could respond, she had unzipped her dress and stepped out of it, as they crashed into her bedroom.

Oswin unclipped her bra and mounted the Doctor. He grunted as she removed what was left of his clothing, raking her long nails down his chest, desperate to get a reaction. He leaned up and kissed her again and she savaged his mouth, before she moved south, his member in her mouth now. She heard him squeak and rolled her eyes as she bit down on him. She clambered off him and he groaned as she flicked away her underwear and climbed on top of him. She hadn't done this in far too long. They kissed again and Oswin felt white hot passion shooting through her. He was giving way beneath her, a pawn in her game. She felt herself burning inside and she gave in to the pleasure, exploding and whooping as the Doctor grimaced. She climbed off him and he looked up at her, horrified.

"You can finish yourself off honey," she laughed as he spluttered. "Christ almighty that was fun Chin, we should definitely do that again sometime. I haven't had good old fashioned meaningless sex in a very long time." His face was completely and utterly crestfallen. "Oh for goodness sake, I'm joking, of course I'll finish you off."

The Doctor laughed uneasily as she finished him off. He let rip and she giggled at him, joking about how big he was seemed to cheer him up but there was most decidedly something not right with him as Oswin rolled off of him and breathed heavily, flipping her hair over one shoulder, her breasts bouncing and the Doctor's eyes were still bulged, but there was something behind them. There were times when Oswin didn't understand him one bit, but in that moment she didn't care. It had been a long time since anyone had pleasured her properly and the Doctor had done a decent job of it. She hoped that this new addition to their arrangement would become a regularity, as it was a great way of letting off steam, particularly when she was pissed off with the Doctor.

If only she had realised how completely oblivious she was to the real reason that the Doctor had looked like she'd shot his puppy.


	6. Chapter 6: Drowning

***Hey guys, another Oswin chapter for you here. This one is from the Doctor's perspective and tries to captures some of the problems that the last chapter brought up. There's also a little hint in here as to where this story is going, but I'll let you try and figure that out for yourselves. Next chapter will probably be up Wednesday. Hope you guys like. As ever, thanks to all my wonderful readers, reviewers, followers and favouriters and please please review and let me know your feelings. TPD***

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Ever since he had lost Amy and Rory, the Doctor had felt himself clinging to Oswin like a lifeline. She was most decidedly rubbing off on his behaviour and he found himself starting to seek increasingly dangerous stunts in an attempt to impress her. He hadn't quite realised how much he had grown to disregard his own life, or how much he had grown to care for Oswin until the night of the Swiss Alps. When he had thrown himself in the way of a gunman to save King Sven; when Oswin had saved his life…when they had slept together. The Doctor had wanted it more than anything; he just hadn't quite admitted it to himself until she was straddling him. They had argued and she had been right of course, the Doctor had stopped caring about living, it was as if the Ponds had taken a piece of him with them. That was understandable, he had lost so much that day. But things had changed. The same night he'd realised that he didn't care about living was the same night that he found a reason to carry on. A short, brunette reason who had been right in front of him all along, keeping him both sane and alive until he had discovered it.

And then she had shot him down. When she had told him that their sex meant nothing to her, it stung him, right to his core. He didn't just have sex with a person, that wasn't what he did. For the Doctor to make that move was almost unheard of, so for Oswin to make it so abundantly clear that she didn't have feelings for him hurt. He had hoped that things wouldn't be awkward between them. But the next morning she had strolled into the console room, wearing just her PJs, she had given him her brightest smile and asked what the plan for the day was, as if nothing had happened. Of course, for her nothing had changed. Oswin hadn't had any life-altering revelations, she had just had a fun night of passion. But for the Doctor, everything had changed. He had realised that he had fallen head over heels for Oswin Oswald and he didn't know what to do about it.

So he tried broaching the subject of their…encounter. Oswin had rolled her eyes and told him in no uncertain terms: "It's just sex Chin, you have had sex before right? It's nothing to get worked up about. It happens. We're both adults, so can we just be adult about it?"

And that was half the problem. The Doctor wasn't human. He wasn't what Oswin would term: an adult. So he didn't know what to do about it. He wasn't used to having feelings for the people he travelled with, certainly not the kind of feelings that he had for Oswin. Of course, there had been Rose, but that was entirely different, as their connection was so intimate from the get-go. The River situation had always been complex, but their feelings were real and he hadn't had to deal with her every day. This? Oswin wasn't intimate with him, she wasn't the kind of girl who made things easy or obvious. That wasn't to say that she didn't care for him, but she didn't show her affection easily. She was closed off.

"Are you feeling alright Chin?" she asked him one morning, a week or so after the Swiss Alps. "You've been all quiet since we did the dirty. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you were feeling awkward because you've seen what's under this delightful dress of mine."

"Me? Awkward?" he laughed. "Ha! I don't do awkward!"

"You're the King of Awkward," Oswin corrected. "Look if it made things weird, then just say and we can address whatever's going on with you. I don't want you to be distracted when we're trying to stop a spaceship crashing into the Sun or some nonsense like that. So if we made a mistake, just tell me."

"No!" he said hurriedly, earning him a look from Oswin. "I mean, we didn't make a mistake, this is just new territory for me. I've not really, slept with the people that I tend to travel with before." He paused, thinking of the right way to phrase it. "I just need some time to get used to our new arrangement, that's all."

"New arrangement?" Oswin teased. "You're planning on getting me into bed again are you honey? You should be so lucky." He tried not to overreact. "Sorry, I forgot you don't deal well with my teasing you," she apologised and she gave him a real smile. "I had a lot of fun Doctor, it made a nice change. You can bet it's going to continue."

The Doctor had taken heart from that conversation, but he felt stuck in an awkward position. He wanted to tell Oswin how he really felt, that the sex meant something to him and that he wanted more from her. But equally, he was worried that he would then shift the awkwardness onto her and put her in a position where she would probably cut off the sex and he really didn't want it to stop. Since the conversation, they had been having sex at semi-regular intervals, usually after a particularly dangerous adventure. As such, the Doctor knew his reckless streak was getting worse, and not better, because it was more likely to result in a casual night with Oswin. Well, she referred to it as casual. To him, it was more than that. He had almost slipped up with tender comments in bed and Oswin had shot him incredulous looks and made disparaging comments, but she hadn't picked up on the underlying nature behind them. He suspected that if she had a clue what was really going on, she would stop having sex with him completely, as Oswin was many things, heartless wasn't one of them.

The Doctor considered all of this as he waited to drown. He had wanted to take Oswin to the Great Mines of Kalak. But the locals didn't take kindly to visitors. Right after the Doctor had climbed down into the mines, they had grabbed Oswin to stop her following, retracted the ladder and sealed him in. The water level had been rising for almost five minutes and it was already up to the Doctor's shoulders. They had taken Oswin to be executed, if he knew his local Kalak traditions properly. And he just had to wait for the water level to rise. The ceiling was a good ten feet above him, so it would be almost ten more minutes before he could reach it. Only then would he learn if he could sonic his way out or not. That was even assuming he could stay afloat long enough to reach the ceiling. The Kalak Mines were infamous for drownings. Sometimes, people would reach the top and there would be blood on the ceiling from where they had ripped their hands trying to claw out desperately. But more often than not, people would grow so tired and exhausted trying to stay above water that they would drown before the water level reached the ceiling.

It was very disparaging, knowing that even if he fought tooth and nail to reach the top, managed to survive long enough to reach the ceiling, even then there was no guarantee that the exit would be sealed in a way that he could sonic. He hadn't bothered to check on the way in, when he probably should have done. There were of course, other ways out of the mine, but to get to them, he'd have had to go further down and there was no way he would have been able to hold his breath long enough to find another tunnel out, even assuming that he managed to find one, he hadn't memorised the cave system.

So the Doctor began to tread water, as the water level surpassed him. 8 minutes, 42 seconds, he reckoned. And then he thought some more about Oswin. He doubted they'd execute her immediately, there would no doubt be a ceremony of some sort. It would hopefully buy him enough time to track the Kalaks and rescue her. Their preferred method of execution was burning. He doubted Oswin would appreciate that. But he hoped she'd appreciate it enough to not get herself shot trying to escape. She had to know that he was coming for her. The Doctor worked on the assumption that he was going to get out. He had no other option.

The water level continued to rise and the Doctor tried to calm himself. Maybe if he just told Oswin how he felt, she might realise that she reciprocated? After all, she wasn't the most in contact with her emotions. She was the sort of girl who shut out how she felt, as well as she managed to shut out other people from how she felt. She'd been travelling with him for two thirds of a year, and yet he still felt like her true nature was hidden from him. She cared about him, a lot more than she let on but she showed it occasionally. She was excited but scared and she wasn't showing any signs of getting bored with the travelling. But she was closed off so often that it was as if the Doctor was only getting snippets of her personality, every so often. Like she was manifesting some of the traits of who she really was, only amplified. It was entirely possible that she would only realise how she felt for the Doctor when he spelled out to her how he felt.

And yet, he doubted it. He was just being stupid, being optimistic. Because optimism was the only thing had left, with probably little more than five minutes left to live. His legs were starting to ache, which wasn't a good sign. He was going to need to do some running when he got out of this hole in the ground, crawling out and taking a nap wasn't an option. He tried switching the emphasis to his arms and making as little movement as possible, conserving his energy as far as he could. The Doctor took a deep breath, and then another one. The air was musty and horrible, the smell of sulphur, copper and trixellicon, the metal they mined here rising up. The air wasn't poisonous, but it wasn't exactly good for you. Still, he reasoned, it was better above the water level than under it, where there was no air at all.

He wondered what Oswin was doing. Probably stood in a prison cell, shouting at some guard that she was going to get out or that the Doctor was coming for her. With any luck, she wasn't being tied to a pyre yet. Maybe they were still walking back to camp. It hadn't even been a quarter of an hour since they'd shut the Doctor in and flooded the mine. He tried to stay calm as he reached into his sodden jacket and retrieved the screwdriver. He couldn't be more than a few feet from the ceiling now. He reached upwards and soniced. Nothing happened. He just needed to get closer, he convinced himself. He couldn't panic. If he panicked now, he was dead and so was Oswin. Forcing himself to take more deep breaths, the Doctor ignored the numbness in his legs, trying hard not to think about how if he lost control for a moment, he would die a horrible death.

His right leg suddenly cramped up and the Doctor's head dipped below the water level. Forcing himself not to panic, he shook his right leg awake while kicking up with his left. His head broke water and he looked upwards. He could almost reach the ceiling. Less than a minute, he reckoned. He could hold his breath that long if needs be. His right leg was shaking, his left was barely moving. It felt as if his left arm was going to fall off as it struggled to make up for the deficiency in his legs and in his right hand, the screwdriver stretched towards the ceiling. He couldn't see a thing except when the sonic briefly flickered on and he was flashed with green, but the entry chamber was tiny. He could almost touch either wall when he stretched, so he couldn't miss the trapdoor if he tried.

Then his sonic was touching the ceiling. Pressing down on the button, the Doctor prayed for a miracle. The sonic whirred and he heard a clicking noise. The Doctor let out a shout of victory, a roar that filled the empty, echoing chamber. He wasn't going to die. Not in this cold, wet, death hole. He was going to save Oswin Oswald. He pressed upwards with all his weight and then he was free. The Doctor crawled out of the hole, soaked to the skin and shivering, but alive. He allowed himself a few moments to rest, as much as he didn't want to. He couldn't afford to collapse of exhaustion on the way to save Oswin after all. His right leg just needed a moment to kick into gear. The TARDIS wasn't far, he could probably make it, but he couldn't track Oswin from there. Then he spotted something lying on the ground. It was a dark hair. A quick scan told him it was Oswin's alright. There were footsteps near the hair and he started following them, moving slowly at first, easing his body back into the strenuous activity and breaking into a run as soon as he was capable.

The camp wasn't more than fifteen minutes' walk. The Doctor made it in a little over nine. He reckoned that the Kalaks would have had Oswin at the camp for a little over ten minutes. Surely not enough time to stage an execution? He saw the smoke rising to the sky and his heart sank. He didn't run straight into the camp but broke the clearing, hanging low. The entire camp was surrounding a pyre and, sure enough, strapped to a pole, hanging above the flames, was Oswin.

The pole she was strapped to was slowly lowering. She had a little over thirty seconds until she reached the flames. She was screaming and cursing, but the Doctor could only see her for a few seconds before she was devoured by smoke. He swore and looked around. The Kalaks were just like humans, except a foot and a half taller, nobody shorter than 7 feet. They were muscled and ill-disciplined. He needed a diversion and they wouldn't notice Oswin was gone until it was too late. But he couldn't be seen, or he'd be shot on sight. Their weapons were more primitive, but they were most decidedly guns. He had just the thing.

The small, circular device rolled off to the left side of the camp and exploded. It wasn't dangerous, but it emitted smoke and a wailing noise. The Kalaks were startled and panicked, bodies throwing themselves either at the device or away from it, gunfire filling the air. In amongst the carnage his little device had caused, the Doctor, keeping low, shot through the crowd like a shadow, reaching the flames with Oswin about ten seconds from being on fire. She was choking and had lost consciousness, the smoke in her lungs. He swore and soniced her free from the ropes binding her. She fell and he stepped into the fire to catch her, dragging her away and ignoring the searing pain in his feet. He flicked off his flaming shoes, patted down the ends of his trousers, threw Oswin over one shoulder and legged it. Thankfully, he had been standing in the fire for but a second, but his feet stung as he pounded away from the camp through the trees.

The gunfire had shifted direction and he suspected it was aiming at him now. As a tree next to him took one to the bark, he swore and ducked low, trying to reposition Oswin so that the majority of her body was shielded from the oncoming storm of bullets. The TARDIS was in sight and he clicked his fingers. The doors flung open and closed of their own accord as he hurled himself inside. He didn't have time to get Oswin to the medical bay, so he lay her on the floor of the TARDIS and checked her breathing frantically. She was alive. He quickly examined her. She was black from head to toe with soot and smoke, streaked with grime and sweat from the fire. Her dress was ruined by the stains and her naked and exposed arms and legs were red raw and shiny. Her eyes fluttered open and she coughed frantically.

"Chin?" she wheezed.

"I'm here Oswin," he wrapped his arms around her, kissing her forehead. "I'm here."


	7. Chapter 7: An Old Friend

***Hey guys, new Oswin chapter! I wanted to throw a bit of a spanner into the works with this one, as an old acquaintance is back to cause trouble. But it also gives me a chance to show Oswin just softening towards the Doctor a bit, which I think is crucial for this stage of their stage of their relationship. Also, this one's a cliffhanger. I hope you enjoy it! As ever, please please please let me know what you think of it, and thank you so much to everyone who has read, reviewed, followed and favourited! TPD***

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Something had changed. Since the sex had started, she had sensed the Doctor was behaving differently, as if some sort of internal conflict was going on. She had tried to find out what was going on in his head and if it had anything to do with their sleeping together, but he insisted that it was just an adjustment period. Within a couple of months, he seemed to have settled down and was back to his usual, cheerful self. Oswin knew that there were things that he was keeping from her, there always was. But he seemed to be okay with their arrangement, whatever their arrangement had become. Oswin thought that the technical term was friends with benefits, but frankly, it didn't bother her one jot. She cared about the Doctor and they were having sex, that was all there was to it.

Oswin was worried about him nevertheless, but that was just the nature of their relationship. It seemed to her that now that things had settled down, there was a chance that he would stop throwing himself into life threatening situations. If anything it was the opposite. She half-wondered if the sex meant that he was craving adrenaline. She wouldn't put it past him, as much as he didn't seem like the adrenaline junky type.

One morning, a couple of months after the sex began, about nine months since she'd started travelling with him, he seemed incredibly subdued. Oswin strolled into the console room, wearing a dark blue skirt and blouse and tights and rested herself on the console itself, waiting for him to acknowledge her. But he didn't. He just kept staring at the console, as if deep in telepathic conversation with it. She cleared her throat and he looked sharply at her, a smile appearing for less than a second on his face.

"Are you alright Chin?" she gave him a bright smile and he turned away from her, as if the simple sight of her was confusing him. "Chin?" Oswin's voice went into caring mode. She hated having to be gentle, but sometimes it was the only way to get through to him.

"I'm fine," he muttered. "It's just…we're going somewhere and…"

"And what?" Oswin frowned. "Where are we going?"

"River Song," he said suddenly. "She contacted me. She needs my help…"

"Only you didn't want to see her again," Oswin finished, putting two and two together. "Oh god Doctor, I'm so sorry. Is there any way you can get out of it?"

He grimaced. "It's not about not going. If I don't go, she'll probably die and it'll create time ripples so powerful…"

"Ahhh timelines, goddit," Oswin nodded. She walked over to him and pulled him into a rare hug, he looked like he needed it. He clung to her gratefully. "Are you going to be okay with this, seeing River I mean? All those memories…"

"I can handle memories," he sighed. "I'm just not sure I can handle River, it's been a while. Six months since…" He didn't say New York but Oswin knew he was thinking it. "Anyway, are you going to be okay with meeting River?" he asked quickly. "Would you rather stay in the TARDIS?"

"What, because we're banging?" Oswin snorted. "Relax Chin; I'm not the jealous type. Whatever's gone on between you and River is between you and River, I couldn't care less. I only want to make sure that you're alright."

"I didn't realise that you cared so much Soufflé Girl," he chuckled.

"Shut up!" Oswin blushed. "Of course I care about you Doctor, I love you to bits. You saved my life; you've given me everything I could ever have wanted, the entire universe. You're a great friend…" she paused. "You're the best friend that I've ever had." She hugged him again, this time for her own benefit. She rarely ever let herself feel emotional, but she had to admit that she owed the Doctor everything and she truly did care about him, more than anything. She broke the hug eventually and punched him on the arm to defuse the tension. "So, where are we going to chase after River Song?" she asked playfully.

The Doctor was giving her a strange look, one that she couldn't place. He suddenly seemed to snap to attention and grinned at her. "Absolutely no idea, she sent the co-ordinates to my psychic paper. Want to find out?"

"Always," Oswin's eyes lit up at the idea of a venture into the unknown. She grabbed and flipped a couple of switches for him as he tried to stretch around the console. The look on his face whenever she helped him fly the TARDIS was nothing short of priceless, pure shock, before he remembered her ability and then he would glow with pride and nod appreciatively, trying to pass it off as nothing. Oswin was never fussed about his approval, but nevertheless, she still got a kick out of it. It was impossible not to in all honesty. The TARDIS landed abruptly and Oswin staggered back, managing to retain her balance. The Doctor wasn't so lucky and he tumbled to the floor. The cackling that usually went with it was gone and he picked himself up. There was a serious look on his face and when Oswin walked to the doors, she felt his hand lace hers. It was another odd gesture, one that conveyed a level of dependence and emotion that Oswin was not comfortable with. But he needed her to be, so she accepted the hand, cold against hers and he shot her an uneven smile. Then they stepped out of the TARDIS.

The land they had stepped into was rich with greenery. The heat hit Oswin in a wave and she was already sweating and wished she could have changed to shorts. The Doctor let go of her hand and stripped off his jacket, throwing it back into the TARDIS. Oswin did likewise with her cardigan, throwing it to him and nodding appreciatively as he disappeared back into the box. She also tied her hair up in order to expose her neck to the minimalistic breeze that was licking her arms. There were footsteps crunching through the undergrowth and Oswin whirled around to see a woman dressed in khaki shorts and a top, her thick, curly hair all piled on top of her head. She was older than Oswin had expected, but no less attractive. Oswin absorbed the woman and offered out a hand to shake, giving River Song her brightest smile, the smile that made the Doctor putty in her hands.

"Oswin Oswald," she greeted cheerfully. "I picked up this one a while back," she shot a thumb backwards into the TARDIS. "You must be River Song."

"Professor River Song," River corrected with a smile. "I'm an archaeologist. The Doctor and I have a…complicated history. Time streams and all that, not sure how much I should say."

"You're married," Oswin said before she could stop herself. "I think. Sort of. Complicated. I think he's far along in the time stream. Seeing as you're a Professor, guessing you are too?"

"Smart girl," River smirked. "Where are Amy and Rory? Off playing happy families?"

Oswin tried not to flinch at the mention of the Ponds and instead nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Luckily, she didn't have to, because the Doctor emerged from the TARDIS a moment later, hurling Oswin some sun cream. Oswin lathered up her arms and face, not wanting to burn. She was already a wonderful shade of nut brown from the week or so they'd spent in the desert recently, a sunbathing trip gone wrong. She hadn't been able to move for almost a day, as her skin had been red raw. The Doctor stared at River briefly, before forcing a smile onto his face.

"River," he greeted nervously. River raised an eyebrow. "Good to see you."

"Is it?" she asked with a smirk. "Then why do you look like you'd rather not be here?" The Doctor didn't respond. "Anyway sweetie, I didn't bring you all the way out here just to gossip. I need your help, as ever. We're not on Earth, obviously." Oswin had no idea why that was obvious, she'd been working on the assumption that they were in the Amazon. "The temple just over the way is uninhabited. That we know of."

"That's the worst kind of temple," he muttered. "How bad are we talking?"

"That's the point," River chuckled. "We've got no idea. Could be genuinely uninhabited, could be about as bad as it could get. Most likely somewhere in the middle. Either way, I thought it would be better to call you in before we went in to excavate. I have a team of twenty men, but I figured you and I could check it out first, make sure it's safe. Oswin, I take it you're joining us?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Oswin replied with a tight smile. She wanted to like River, but she could see how on edge the Doctor was around her and it made Oswin annoyed. If she didn't know any better, she'd say that she was feeling protective. "Lead the way Prof."

Calling River 'Prof' earned her an incredulous look from River and the cheekiest grin she had ever seen the Doctor make. They traipsed through the jungle for about ten minutes and Oswin was sweating buckets by the time that they reached the temple. River was slightly ahead of them, as the Doctor was deliberately hanging back, presumably so that River wouldn't engage him in conversation.

"How're you hanging in there?" Oswin whispered, keeping an eye on River to make sure that she wasn't eavesdropping on their conversation. "And what do you expect to find in that temple? River wouldn't call you in unless it was bad, right?"

"Probably not," he admitted. "But I can never tell with River. Still, if her gut tells her that there's something in there that meant she had to call me in, then chances are, we're walking right into a death trap. I'm glad to be honest, it will give me something else to focus on. Something besides the good Professor," he sighed. He, like Oswin, was watching River Song like a hawk. Oswin could see the look in his eyes. He was torn. Part of him wanted to go to her and rekindle whatever it was they had had. The other part wanted him to stay put.

They crossed the ridge and came to a giant clearing. The temple looked very small, only a couple of stories high. Oswin frowned at the sight of it, it was obviously run down. It wouldn't take much exploration. There was a set of twenty men, one or two of them armed, roaming around the front of the clearing. They converged when River arrived, and she nodded to one or two of them.

"The majority of the temple is underground," she explained and Oswin twigged. "There are tunnels underneath there that could run for miles. It certainly goes down quite far. It'll be pitch black down there, but we've got torches."

"Yay for torches," Oswin muttered under her breath and the Doctor smirked at this.

"The men are going to stay out here," River continued. "We should be in radio contact with them the entire time, but it could get deep down there, so I wouldn't be surprised if you needed to boost the signal sweetie," she said to the Doctor. He nodded at that. River seemed to pause and then looked oddly at Oswin. "Can you give us a minute?" she asked.

Oswin raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. She shot the Doctor a look and the Doctor took a moment to chew on his lip before nodding. Oswin took a few steps back, trying to ignore the awkward looks that the archaeologists were shooting her. They didn't know what to do in this situation any more than she did and that made Oswin nervous. After a minute or so, the Doctor returned to her side and they were following River into the temple.

"What was that about?" Oswin asked in an undertone.

"Nothing important," he assured her. "River wondered if something was going on between us, and if that was why I was being so awkward around her, unusually so." He sounded irritated and Oswin put it down to the fact that he couldn't tell River the truth.

"What did you tell her?" Oswin's curiosity had been peaked. It would be interesting to see how the Doctor had defined the parameters of their relationship.

"I told her that we were sleeping together, but just friends and that our relationship had no bearing on my attitude towards River. It merely happened that it had been a long time since I had seen her and that I had considered it unlikely that I would see her again. 90% of the truth, just not the bit that's really…"

"Really bothering you," Oswin mused. "Sorry Chin. I know this must be hard for you."

He wanted to reply, but River had dropped in alongside them. The temple they were entering was full of light, at least on the surface, but there was nothing interesting to be found on this level.

"My people have already scouted out this level," River informed them. "There's nothing of note. Not for you anyway, plenty of fascinating archaeological discoveries, but I won't bore you with the details. Anyway, the entrance to the caves is here," she ushered them to a small hole in the ground. River went in first, followed by Oswin and finally, having shot one more furtive glance around, the Doctor. Oswin checked he was following them as they kept low, walking down a small passage into a cavern. It stank of death and decay and Oswin felt ill just being down there. There were bones and rocks in the cavern, which wasn't that big, but big enough that they could stand. River had a map of the tunnels at her disposal and guided them down a side-tunnel, declaring that whatever tombs were down here, they were in that direction.

"So the tombs are whatever lives down here?" Oswin whispered to him. "Or what died down here?"

"One of them," he acknowledged. "We'll find out which one soon enough. What planet is this River?" he called to her and she shot him a look back. "River…" the Doctor frowned.

"I don't know!" she shouted back. "All I know is that we're in the Cletaria Nebula, designation Alpha Gamma Epilson, planet recording 563. Ringing any bells?"

"Give me a minute," he muttered. "It'll be somewhere in my brain. Oswin, can you remember the number for me and tell me again when I ask?"

"Sure," Oswin rolled her eyes. They climbed deeper into the cavern and the Doctor was deep in thought. They entered the catacombs and River's torch started flickering. She frowned and bashed it back into life. It was very cold and eerie and Oswin looked around. There was one wall, with hundreds of openings. They reached a set of steps and looked down. It looked like it went down for miles, with holes jutting out of the walls the entire way down.

"What was the number Oswin," the Doctor asked gently, as River went over to examine one of the holes in the wall.

"563," she recited. "Is it important? What planet are we on?"

"Get back," he said sharply. "River get back!"

"Why?" she frowned. "What's wrong, Doctor what planet are we on?"

"Tylectia," he said. "The name won't mean anything to you. It shouldn't mean anything to you. Because here's the thing. It's uninhabited." River froze. Oswin looked at him in confusion. "Nothing lives here," he continued. "At least, nothing should live. Nothing natural should be here anyway…"

Oswin asked the question that they were all thinking. "So how can there be tombs then?"

At this point, something shot out of the hole River was stood next to and pulled her in. River barely had time to scream…


	8. Chapter 8: Out of the Darkness

***Hey guys, new Oswin chapter! This one picks up directly where the last one left off and to be honest, it's a bit of a gruesome one in places. Oswin and the Doctor have to try and rescue River and then things happen. Some stuff. Bit of a revelatory chapter, a game-changer as it were. Anyway, I really hope you enjoy it, next chapter shall be Tuesday. Thank you so much to everyone who has read, reviewed, followed and favourited, and there's plenty more to come today and over the next month or so. TPD***

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Oswin rushed forward to help River, but the Doctor held her back, refusing to let her race in. He waited several moments for the sounds of gunfire, but River obviously wasn't firing back. He looked down, gazing at the catacombs. Whatever lived in those tombs, it wasn't friendly.

"What do we do?" Oswin asked, and he could hear the fear in her voice. He wrapped an arm around her protectively and she shot him an odd look, so he removed it. She cuddled closer to him nevertheless. "We have to go after River, don't we?"

"Yep," the Doctor sighed. "Of course we do. She'd do the same for either of us. But we need to know what we're up against. Whatever's down there, maybe we can reason with it…and maybe it'll rip us to shreds. I don't know and I don't like not knowing. Maybe, living in darkness for so long, they'll be sensitive to light…"

"You're riffing," Oswin muttered. "That's a good sign right?"

"It means I'm nervous as hell and covering it up by thinking out loud," the Doctor replied honestly. "Right then, Geronimo. I'd ask you to stay here or go back to the others, but I realise that that is not even worth asking the question. So, stay two steps behind me and keep looking around. I don't want anything popping out of some side hole and grabbing us."

Oswin nodded, and then let him lead. She was terrified, the Doctor could tell. But she was hiding it well. Oswin was not the type to show her fear, but she was equally not the type to cuddle up to him for reassurance, so the fact that she was clinging to his arm like a life raft meant that she was very scared indeed. He wanted to be there for her, but he felt trapped. If he was too intimate with Oswin, it might betray his feelings, but if he wasn't, then he would feel even more alien to her and he wanted her to know that he cared.

He took the first few tentative steps, Oswin right behind him. He approached the tomb with caution, hissing River's name. The things that woman dragged him into. Oswin's breathing was heavy and ragged behind him and he didn't blame her. River was nowhere to be seen as he flashed his torch into the tomb. He hadn't expected it to be that easy. The tomb was more than just a single cavern, it was a network, it looked like every level was just a giant maze of tunnels. He swore. It would be almost impossible to find River down here. He scanned for anything unusual and the sonic readings went almost off the scale.

"Doctor?" Oswin's voice was a lot more timid than he had expected it to be. "There's something dripping from the ceiling."

He whirled round and a green glob was indeed dripping from a crack in the ceiling, falling onto Oswin's exposed shoulder. The Doctor suddenly realised that Oswin was shivering, her dress wasn't designed for the cold of the temple. He took off his jacket and wrapped it around her, dragging her away from the falling goo. Ectoplasm. He scanned it.

"Thanks," Oswin mumbled, clearly embarrassed. "What is that stuff?" Her voice regained its authority and it was clear that Oswin was having some kind of internal battle with herself not to be scared. It looked as if she was starting to win it. "I mean, where did it come from?"

"It's some kind of synthesiser," he replied. "Genetic strands are…well not human, look at it that way. Humanoid, possibly. Bugs. Giant, humanoid moths. Joy, that's just what I didn't need. It looks as if this goo goes in…synthesising pods. Oh dear."

"Synthesising pods?" Oswin was somewhere between incredulous and terrified. "Synthesising what?" He shot her a look. "Oh. Synthesising us right? Turning us into them? Is that what they're doing to River, turning her into one of them? Is it basically a cocoon, like caterpillars into butterflies?"

"Possibly," the Doctor remarked. "Either that or they're synthesising River into something edible, it's plausible that their food source has dried up down here. How did they even get here? Are they in hibernation or living down here? Well, I suppose there's only one way to work it out. Come on."

Oswin was never more than a step behind him, his jacket draped over her shoulders, her hair tied up messily, her eyes alert but full of fear and her lips almost bleeding from how much she had chewed them. She flashed her torch around the walls and they kept moving, until the Doctor came to a halt and she crashed into the back of him, murmuring her apologies. He waved them away, he didn't need to hear it. The cavern that they had reached was disgusting. It was swarming with maggots and flies and hanging from the ceiling were green pods. River had to be in one of them, he reasoned. But there was something feeding off of one of the pods. He supposed that answered what they were being synthesised into. It was food. He shuddered as he saw it. It was grotesque. It was jet black, striped with green, dripping foul green liquids. Its legs were short and stumpy, its wings were paper thin and hanging off its webbed arms. It's face was the least human. It was almost all mouth, two pinprick eyes and rows of vicious teeth. It was tearing into the pod, sucking away at it, like some sort of monstrous love bite. He could see Oswin next to him, her face a mask of horror. She clearly wanted to vomit, he knew that he did. He pulled her back from the cavern entrance, staring at her face.

"Are you alright?" he asked quietly, looking into her eyes. She nodded but it was a lie. "Oswin, you should go back up to the surface. What's going on down here…"

"No," she whispered back, more harshly than he supposed she intended. "I'm not just going to run away, you're not going to." He was a toxic influence on the people he travelled with and it was times like this that reminded him why. "Doctor, I'm not going to leave you and River to die down here, I'd never forgive myself. So what's the plan?"

"I'm going to distract it," he sighed, aware that there was nothing he could do to convince Oswin to leave. "You need to get River out of that pod. Here, use this." He handed her the sonic. "Psychic interface, point and think. You'll be fine, I promise." She hugged him now, another oddity. The Doctor held her tightly and then kissed her forehead. She frowned at that. "Anyway, let's do this thing." Why had he kissed her forehead? What was he thinking?

The Doctor stepped out into the cavern, breathing heavily and trying to hold himself together. The creature didn't spot him at first, his torch light was low and he wasn't making much noise. He couldn't see the creature's ears, but he presumed that it had them. It suddenly retracted its face from the pod it was devouring and sniffed the air, before turning to stare hungrily at the Doctor, who gulped as fear shot through him. He had to admit, for all the bravado, he was every bit as terrified as Oswin. He just couldn't let her or the creature see that. Oswin would panic and the creature would probably devour him.

"Hello!" he greeted the creature with a cocksure grin and a little wave, hoping that it would understand him, be capable of understanding him. "I'm the Doctor. And you are?"

"Lock Tee," it snarled. Well that was a relief. "You have entered my tribe's caves. We have not had food in so long. Thank you. My people used to number many, now there are but a few…we do what we have had to do, to survive."

The Doctor had a horrible realisation. Well the fact that he was going to be eaten was a bad start, but that wasn't what worried him. The synthesis pods. What was in them? If there were only Lock Tee and its people on the planet…

"You turned cannibal," the Doctor muttered. "You've been devouring your own people. Synthesising them and then eating them. Your family, your own kind…I am so sorry. But you won't be feasting on me, or my friends, I'm afraid Lock Tee. How did you end up here?"

"We were taken from our home planet," it snarled. "By you. Your people. The humans. We were being ferried across the stars, when we fought back. We devoured the humans, but their ship crashed. Here. We have been living in these caves, forced to feed off our own kind. No more. We have fresh human meat now. Lock Tee shall feast!"

It roared and launched for him. It was time to test his light theory. The Doctor brought up the torch and turned it to full, blinding Lock Tee, who screamed and fell back, desperate to escape the light. The Doctor felt more than a little sorry for Lock Tee, who had been dragged from its home planet and dropped somewhere with no food. No wonder it hated humans. Even if it didn't, it was just doing what it had to do to survive. He understood that. But that didn't mean that he was going to let the creature kill him. Or River and certainly not Oswin. He backed off, still shining the torch, his legs moving slowly. He needed to buy Oswin as much time as he could. The creature was not going after him, not yet. He turned on his heels and legged it. He almost crashed into Oswin at the cavern entrance. She was carrying River, which was quite the feat, considering her size and both Oswin and River were covered in the green gunk. She smelled terrible and looked utterly traumatised.

"I am so sorry!" the Doctor pulled her into a hug. "We're leaving. Now." He scooped River out of Oswin's arms and slung her over his shoulder. He took Oswin's hand and dragged her along behind him. "I was right about the torch, shine it behind us in case that thing comes after us!" he called back to her and she didn't say anything; she merely obeyed. He was worried about her, but this wasn't the time for it. He thundered on, legs pumping fiercely as they broke into the tomb cavern. He could hear the fluttering of wings below him. They were coming. More of them. He flashed his torch down and swore.

"Oswin," he warned. "Don't look down." He felt his shoulder go numb under River's weight, but he didn't dare slow down as they made their way towards the entrance. The screeching behind them was horrific and Oswin was losing her grip on his hand. He slowed for a second, barely a second to push Oswin in front of him. "Keep running!" he urged, as she stumbled and he guided her onwards. Then, before they knew it, they were in the entrance cavern. The Doctor whirled round, using his torch to hold back the onrushing creatures. Oswin was already scrambling out and once she was clear, the Doctor followed, almost buckling under River. He cursed and then he broke the sunlight and they were running out of the temple, not content that they were safe until they were hunched over with the men River had brought with her.

"Nobody!" the Doctor gasped. "Is going into that temple. Ever again. Do you understand me?" They nodded. "Good. Now take care of River Song and get off this planet. Never come back. River will know what to do." He turned to Oswin. She was dripping green, sweating yet shivering and she was hunched into the foetal position, looking like she was fighting back tears. Oswin was one of the toughest people that the Doctor had ever met, but that place had been nothing short of hell. It was one of those days where you just needed a hot shower and to forget it ever happened. The Doctor felt the same way.

"Oswin?" he said quietly. "Let's get you back to the TARDIS." She nodded and stumbled to her feet, crashing into his arms. "Come on, let's go."

"What about River?" she asked suddenly. "Aren't you going to say goodbye?"

"No," he said sharply. "I've said goodbye to River too many times already, I can't do it again. I mean, I can't say goodbye. Not knowing that for me, it probably is goodbye…"

Oswin understood, he could see it in her eyes. She nodded again and they walked in silence back to the TARDIS. Once they were inside, he could see Oswin breaking down. She was so tough, built all of the walls around her and now they were crashing down. She rushed away from him, to shower. He waited half an hour to make sure that she had time and then he rapped on her bedroom door.

"Come in," she muttered and he opened the door. She was sat on her bed, dressed in just a towel, looking almost like a ghost. "Sorry for wigging out," she said, but her voice was lacking its usual enthusiasm. "It's just, I was covered in that stuff and it was…"

"I know," he reassured her. "That temple is one of the most horrific places I can remember going to. You're not alone in feeling traumatised. Sometimes I need to just shower and let all the pain and worries wash away. Are you feeling better?"

"Much," she replied. He didn't believe her. "Thank you Doctor, for coming to check on me. I know today must have been incredibly tough on you, what with River and…that thing…"

"Hey," he wrapped an arm around her. "I'm always here for you Oswin." Was this the moment? "I mean, you're the best thing I've got going. And I…"

"And you…? Spit it out Chin!" Some of her usual vigour was back.

"I love you." There he'd said it. It was such a weight off of his shoulders. He instantly felt better, but as he looked at Oswin's face, he immediately felt so much worse. She looked horrified.

"Oh!" her voice had gone very high. "I was not expecting that." She looked torn. "I'm…flattered. I think." She didn't look flattered. "I mean, this is just…a lot to take in. You love me? As in, you're…in love with me?"

"I would request permission for us to be more than just kissing partners, yes," he said nervously. "I mean, I would like to take you out on a date. Of sorts. Like…a relationshippy type thing. Like the Ponds. That's it. The Ponds." This was a huge mistake.

"Doctor…" Oswin looked hurt. "I like you a lot. Like, I think you're amazing. Truly. And you're super-hot, I mean the sex has been amazing, the best I've ever had. But, I didn't realise that you felt that way about me. Or I would never have slept with you in the first place." Ouch. "It's just, that I don't feel the same way. I don't love you. You're a great friend and I love our dynamic, but…I'm not looking for a bloke. And even if I was…" she bit her lip. "It wouldn't be you. I'm sorry…Chin! Wait!"

But the Doctor was already making for the door. He had miscalculated. He had let himself fall for a human, a companion. And she had shot him down. What had he been thinking? Stupid, old Doctor. He would never be good enough for Oswin. He yelled in frustration and anguish and kicked the TARDIS console. He had lost the Ponds, he had abandoned River and Oswin wanted nothing to do with him. He had become very good at screwing everything up. She'd probably want to go home now, another companion he would lose. Why hadn't he just kept his mouth shut?

And, for the first time since he had lost the Ponds, the Doctor allowed himself to cry.


	9. Chapter 9: Analyse

***Hello one and all! It's been a while, apologies but I was in Cardiff since Sunday, otherwise I would have posted sooner. I'm back home home now and the next month or so, I am going to go Whouffle crazy. The Year of the Doctor will be up hopefully by the weekend, Oswin will be finished probably next week and more super prompts from Counting Sinful Stars, xandrota and ladydi1984 will be up over the next few weeks, plus prompts and such. Anyway, last chapter was pretty heart-breaking and frankly this one is worse. I really wanted to explore Oswin's emotional turmoil. I've been in this situation on the Doctor's side so I don't know how it was so much easier to slip on Oswin's skin but nevertheless, this is a brutal one. I hope you enjoy anyway and I'll be back soon, Thursday most likely :) As ever, thank you so much to all my wonderful readers, reviewers, followers and favouriters and please let me know what you think! TPD***

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Oswin was furious with herself. How could she have not seen this coming? The signs had all been there. The weird behaviour, the constantly trying to impress her, the sex for goodness sake! Did she really believe that the Doctor was the sort of person who had meaningless sex? How could she possibly have been so thick? She felt like she knew the Doctor pretty well but obviously not that well if she hadn't realised. Or worse, maybe she had realised it and ignored it for her own selfish purposes. She should never have slept with him and as much as Oswin wanted to carry on sleeping with him, she'd have to be insane to even consider it now. She half-wondered if she was going to have to leave the TARDIS. Could their relationship survive? Friendship, she corrected herself. Referring to it as a relationship felt cruel, given what had just transpired.

And as much as Oswin hated herself and hated the situation, there were two things she knew. One, that she didn't blame the Doctor. She wasn't angry with him, which was surprising in itself, but her time on the TARDIS had clearly mellowed her. But also, she never doubted her decision. As pissed off with the mess as she was, Oswin never for a second questioned it. She didn't love the Doctor and there wasn't even a small part of her that wanted to go out with him. He was amazing and everything, but there was nothing there romantically. The sex was great, but, to Oswin at least, there was nothing behind it. She would never have had sex with him if she had had any inkling that she had feelings for him, she was much too guarded to allow that. And it was cruel. Horribly so, but Oswin wasn't going to fuck around with him. Not anymore. She had to be blunt, there was no other way for her to be. It would never happen between them and he had to know that, otherwise there would be no hope for their friendship whatsoever.

After he had stormed out, Oswin had lost it. She had barely been holding it together after the incident in the caves anyway, that place had shaken her to her core. Memories came flooding right back: of dragging River from that foul stuff, it pouring out all over her, filling her nostrils, clinging to her hair, swamping her arms. There had been a moment where she'd thought she was going to drown as it swam into her mouth, tasting even worse than she'd imagined and she'd vomited it out, her entire body shuddering. As the moments flashed back to her, coupled with the look on the Doctor's face when she'd told him of her lack of feelings, she screamed in anguish. She stood, letting the towel fall to the floor so she was completely naked and then she swung her fist. As it collided with the mirror, Oswin thought she heard her own sanity shatter alongside the glass. She swore loudly as pain rocketed up her arm, glass slicing into her knuckles, which were burning in agony. She pulled her hand away but she didn't feel better, she felt worse. The pain in her hand was still secondary to the fierce guilt raging within her, coupled with the images of the cave.

These new memories were fresh, but they weren't as traumatising as another set, memories that now she pulled out, just to increase her level of despair. Memories of Daleks shrieking every night, Oswin unable to sleep as if her eyes drooped for a minute, the nightmares kicked in. They had always come for her in her nightmares and they still did. When she fell asleep, the walls to her perfect security system came crashing down, Daleks on all sides as she died over and over again, each extermination more excruciating than the last. Oswin started to sob, doubling over and trying to get the Dalek voices out of her head. Then she saw it again. His face. The look of pain, anguish and then, finally, complete and utter despair. She had taken his heart and crushed it in front of him and she had looked him in the eyes and seen a little light leave them. Her best friend, the only person in the world that she had left to love. Because she did love him. She couldn't say that to him of course, because it wasn't the sort of love he wanted. But nevertheless, she loved him like a friend, the sort of friend that you wanted to be there forever. And that fantasy was as dead as her mother.

When you only have sad memories, you need to try and cling to the happy ones, the ones that can pull you out of a slump. But for Oswin, all of her memories were tainted. The memories of her mother stained with the reminder that she was dead and the look in the paramedics eyes when he told a little girl she'd lost her mum. Her memories of the last year or so, travelling with the Doctor and the fun that they'd had, tainted by the knowledge that the entire time, his feelings for her had been building at a colossal rate, out of control. Out of her control. Oswin craved control more than anything and her entire life was one great big spinning wheel and she was strapped down to it whilst the Doctor, the Daleks and everything else that the universe could throw at her twirled her around, the motion-sickness too much for Oswin to bear.

She screamed again, the noise filling the otherwise silent room. She didn't know or care where the Doctor was. That was a lie though, because of course she cared. She cared more than anything in the entire world. And that was what made it so impossibly hard for her. The reason that her soul was crushed, the reason that saying the words left stamp prints on her almost as much as they left marks on him. Every word was not just a blow to him but to her own sanity, her own being. Her hand felt almost numb again, the burning reduced to little more than an itching compared to the torrent that was washing over Oswin's chest, making every breath feel impossible yet somehow she managed to keep breathing. To keep going, if she was managing that. If she could manage that. She both wanted to see the Doctor and not to see him. She wasn't sure that she could handle seeing the broken look on his face, seeing the dull, lifeless eyes, seeing his chin wobble. His chin. How many times had she teased him about it, decimating his self-esteem with her cocksure attitude?

As she looked back on every interaction she'd ever had with the Doctor, breaking down and reimagining every single scenario, trying to pinpoint the exact moment everything had started to fall apart, she knew that she was over-analysing it. She glanced down at herself and there was blood all over the carpet. Oswin swore again, her feet had been cut to ribbons by all of the broken glass and she hadn't even felt it. Each swear word penetrated the lingering silence that was hanging over her. It felt good, but it also felt empty. The curses meant nothing without seeing the Doctor's disapproving look that should accompany them.

The next hour was one of the hardest of Oswin's life. She had faced harder, but only just. The first few days of the Asylum, the days following the loss of her mother. If she could survive them, she could survive this. That was what she told herself. But the truth was, had she survived either? Her mother's death still lingered on, snapping away at her soul when she needed it least, whenever she was close to being happy. And the Asylum had never stopped taunting her, memories of it slipping into her consciousness. She was still breathing, her heart was still pumping blood around her body, but each experience, each horrific encounter, left her a little bit less human. They kept gnawing away at her, until she wasn't even sure what was left. The Doctor had built her up. He had given her reasons to carry on. If she had to go back to her regular life after this, she genuinely didn't think she'd last very long. How could she give all of this up?

Oswin would never know how she found the strength to clean up her feet, bandage her wrist and go to look for the Doctor. But she did just that, her entire world hanging on a knife edge, her very sanity clinging to the edge of a precipice. She didn't want to see the Doctor. She couldn't bear the thought that he would push her off the edge of the cliff that she was standing on the edge of, or worse, that she would throw herself off for him. It was a sacrifice she was almost willing to make, willing to cut him out of her life, let her own light fizzle out, rather than torture him with her presence every single day. But Oswin was a coward and Oswin knew that if push came to shove, she'd probably break down and beg him to let her stay. She wasn't even a fifth of the person that the Doctor was and they both knew that. Nevertheless, she had to go and see him. She couldn't hang on forever. She needed to either fall or climb to safety.

He was in the console room. In the end, he had been waiting for her, just like she'd been waiting for herself. He'd been crying. Obviously. He looked every bit as dreadful as she felt and probably looked. His eyes were red raw, his sleeves snotty, his face a mask of death. After the day that they had both had, it would make all the sense in the world to sleep. To take the night to assess their relationship and how to move forwards, but Oswin didn't have that luxury. She needed to resolve this.

"Doctor," she said quietly, the single word destroying the limp, awkward silence that had been threatening to suffocate them both since the moment they had locked eyes.

"Oswin," he replied. That was it. It was clear she was going to have to take the lead on this one. The way he said her name, so tender, yet so full of regret. He was angry with himself, he'd probably spent the last hour beating himself up, maybe physically as well as mentally. Well that made two of them. Oswin was suddenly acutely aware of the throbbing in her hand and tried to disguise the bandage, but he was already staring at it, his eyebrows curving out in surprise, his mouth moving ever so slightly. He was trying not to react but she knew him well enough. Or at least, she thought she had. She didn't know anymore. Her faith in her ability to read him had been shaken to its core, the same as everything else she thought she had known.

"I want to say I'm sorry," she sighed. "But the words can't do justice how I feel right now. They're pathetic, petty almost. Like I can quantify how much damage I've done to both of us. How much I've hurt you. And I imagine you feel roughly the same."

He nodded. The movement left his head bowed, as if he couldn't even bring himself to look at her anymore. She preferred it that way too, she didn't have to look into his big, sad eyes. She was too selfish to not enjoy that fact, even if it only registered for a moment, a flicker.

"What can I do?" she asked. And it was desperate. They both knew it. They both knew that something fundamental had fractured in their friendship and neither of them had a clue how to fix it. Oswin was asking him for answers that she knew he couldn't give, because as much as they were clueless, they both needed each too much to accept the fact that things were ugly and they were probably only going to get uglier.

"I don't know," he replied in a harsh, strained voice. At least he was admitting it, willing to open up his brain to the possibility that his knowledge of the intricacies of the universe was meaningless when his knowledge of Oswin and himself, was required. And worse, it was sorely lacking. "I don't suppose you've changed your mind about me?"

Oswin shook her head. She couldn't speak. She couldn't tell him the words again, she had barely managed to survive saying them once. She just kept shaking her head, like the amount of times she did it would translate. He nodded again, leaving his head in that same, lowered position. She stared at the floor. She had to say it, the question was burning at her.

"Do you want me to…?"

She couldn't finish the sentence as her voice cracked and her entire body shook. She wanted nothing more in the world than to undo the last twenty hours, just to be oblivious again. She couldn't bring herself to ask him the question, as she feared the answer. She didn't know what she feared more: if he kicked her out, or if he didn't. Kicking her out would destroy her, but staying would ruin him. They were caught between a rock and a hard place and Oswin knew which of them was willing to make the self-sacrifice. And it wasn't her.

"No," he said so quickly, Oswin doubted she'd have been able to finish the sentence even if she'd wanted to. "I mean, I don't want you to leave. I don't know what I'd do without you to keep me in check!" He'd said it light-heartedly, like the Doctor she knew, but his heart wasn't in it. There was an edge to the way he said it that sent a shiver down her spine. She imagined the Dalek Asylum, blown to smithereens. And then she thought back to everything she'd read about the Doctor. The Daleks feared him. She tried to ignore the Doctor's darker side, but when it was so chilling laid out in front of her, as an ultimatum, it was impossible to do so.

"Yeah," Oswin mumbled. "I thought so."

Then, by pure chance, they both looked up at the same moment. Their eyes met, his green meeting her brown and, just for a moment, none of it mattered. They could hold it together, find a way to make it work. The Doctor allowed himself a smile and Oswin returned it, fierce. His eyes were flickering, like they were just threatening to break back into that explosive light that she knew signalled his passion. But not quite. And then he was moving and she was meeting him and they were hugging so tightly she thought that he might be able to squeeze all of the pain and doubt away. They were going to get through this.

"I hate this," Oswin murmured, his ear millimetres from her lips. "I hate this so damned much."

"So do I," he admitted. "So do I."


	10. Chapter 10: Taking Time

***Hey guys! New Oswin chapter. This is a much shorter one, and not my best, I don't think, but I felt it was important to underline the shift in the Doctor and Oswin's relationship and how unsustainable it has become. Anyway, I hope you guys like it anyway, next chapter will be up Saturday :) 3 chapters left now :P As ever, thank you so much for reading, reviewing, following and favouriting. TPD***

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The next couple of weeks were strange. Oswin had prepared herself for all manner of possibilities, but the simple fact was that things were awkward between them, nothing more and nothing less. Her jokes were shaky, the Doctor's retorts were even shakier. Every so often, she'd catch him looking at her a certain way and it would send a blush to her cheeks and a shiver down her spine. Because she could tell what he was thinking. And she hated it. She hated that he felt that way about her and that he was either trying to think of ways to win her over or worse, torturing himself over the realisation that he couldn't. But they had both decided that the best way to move forward was to pretend that nothing had happened. After all, that was what they both wanted. The Doctor wanted to pretend that he hadn't spilled his heart on the table in front of Oswin and Oswin wanted to pretend that she hadn't had to break his heart.

Even so, pretending that nothing had happened proved harder than before. The changes were subtle but they were there. Oswin was spending more and more time in her bedroom and the gaps between their trips were widening. If she wanted to go somewhere, more often than not, she'd have to go to him as he rarely came to her room anymore. Oswin herself had changed the way she dressed, the way she acted towards him. She was a lot more tentative and stopped dressing provocatively, now acutely aware of the subtle glances that he shot her when he thought she wasn't looking or the little flush in his cheeks when she wore a gorgeous dress.

Gradually, things started to improve. They managed to reform a level of comfort around each other as Oswin forced herself to remember all the reasons that she liked the Doctor and all the ways in which she needed him. Their friendship managed to solidify and the awkwardness started to melt away. But there were still lingering doubts, lingering little things. Like when she caught him staring at her and she didn't have the heart to make a bristling comment, or when she accidently teased him about having a crush on her, forgetting her position, just for a moment and then the wave of uncomfortable silence would descent before they were stammering apologies at each other and avoiding eye contact for the rest of the day.

Secretly, Oswin was still hoping that the Doctor would realise he didn't love Oswin and that everything could go back to the way that it was. She often wondered if he thought the same thing. Of course he did. But he no doubt hoped that she would change the way she felt about him. That wasn't happening. As bad as Oswin felt, nothing had changed between them. It was a couple of months before Oswin finally felt back at home in the TARDIS and even then, it was marked by pointed silences and awkward moments. But the moments were still few and far between and Oswin was finally comfortable with the situation.

One day, the realisation struck her that she had been travelling on the TARDIS for what must have been close to a year. A whole year. And she was simultaneously so much closer to the man who had saved her from the Asylum and yet at the same time, no closer at all. He was still so distant, so alone and so lonely. She could see it in his eyes sometimes, the pain of a man who had lived far too long and suffered way too much. She wanted to make things better for him and yet she was now the one hurting him the most.

"Something the matter Oswin?" he asked her gently, and she felt pains run through her. Was that the way it would always be from now on? Whenever she remembered how much she was hurting him then she'd flinch away from him?

"No," she insisted with a smile that didn't her eyes. He didn't press the issue. He probably understood. Either that or he believed her. "I was just thinking, it's been nearly a year since I…you know, got out."

He seemed to stiffen a moment and Oswin wondered if the guilt of what she was doing to him would ever go away. Then he turned back to her, a huge grin on his face and he tapped her nose playfully. Oswin wanted to believe his cheeriness more than anything.

"I suppose we should go on a special trip then?" he laughed. "Where do you fancy Oswin Oswald?"

Oswin wasn't really in the mood, but nevertheless, she plastered a smile on her face and shrugged her shoulders, flicking her hair over one shoulder. She was wearing jeans and a jumper. She did a lot of that lately. She wasn't sure if the Doctor was grateful or frustrated, but he hadn't mentioned it. They rarely talked properly anymore, it was all trivial, superfluous, as if some unwritten code existed between them not to talk about things of serious nature, for fear of the awkwardness and pain that would follow.

"Take me anywhere Chin!" she told him, crossing her arms and strolling closer to the console. "Somewhere fitting."

"Somewhere fitting?" the Doctor rolled his eyes and Oswin allowed herself a giggle. It felt good. She rarely giggled any more. "Well then Soufflé Girl, how does cocktails sound? Cocktails…on the Moon?"

"Cocktails on the Moon?" she rolled her eyes. "Please, Moon bars are so 3500, take me to a real bar Chin boy!"

Was this such a good idea? The Doctor, her, alcohol? Oswin shrugged off the nagging feeling eating away at her. She would be careful. She couldn't spend the rest of her life pussyfooting around the Doctor, it was ridiculous. Besides, he was a Time Lord, he probably could handle alcohol so much better than her…Oswin remembered her last encounters with the Doctor and alcohol and snorted at that. He shot her a look and she smiled, giggling to herself. What's the worst that could happen?

"You want a real bar?" he smirked. "The Alicantie Bar, on the planet Venus, the year is 1708, about a hundred years before Venus is abandoned when the people of Earth become intelligent enough to start to determine that there may be life on other planets. They're scared of the humans," he paused at this. "Can't say I blame them. Anyway, one of the greatest bars in history, shut down ahead of its time. You in?"

"Will we be able to breathe?" Oswin frowned and the Doctor shrugged and informed her that there was an atmospherical shell. Oswin was sceptical but as they stepped out of the TARDIS, into what struck Oswin as a giant, interstellar parking lot and they gazed at the giant purple building ahead of them, Oswin's breath was taken away by the sights, not the lack of oxygen. Aliens, so many aliens. She stammered, looking for the words and then the Doctor was ushering her through the crowds. She was taking in by the whirlwind of purple neon lights and people chattering away in languages that were quickly being translated, even the TARDIS struggling to change them all into English in time, the Doctor nattering away.

Suddenly, they were at the bar and Oswin was being thrust a drink by someone. She was about to drink it when the Doctor stuck his hand out and took it from her. She frowned at him and he handed her another drink, which she sipped. It tasted nice and she raised an eyebrow at him.

"You need to be careful in these places," he informed her, sipping on his own drink. "Not every drink is suitable for human consumption. That drink would probably have melted your liver and I assume that you have an amicable relationship with your liver?"

"Amicable isn't the word I would use," Oswin shot back. "But I do appreciate you letting it not get melted."

She was smiling into her drink now and the Doctor was telling her some story but she wasn't listening. The drink was tasty but she was lost to her own thoughts. About him, about everything. About how she could fix the mess she had ended up with as a life. She sighed and finished her drink, looking to the Doctor to order her another one, because she was still wary of his comment about the liver melting. He slid her another drink and she found herself desperate to be drunk. Desperate just to be able forget everything.

"Get me something stronger!" she shouted to the barman.

"Oswin!" the Doctor warned but she rolled her eyes at him as she finished the drink that he had offered her. The barman returned with her drink and she indicated to the Doctor. "It's safe but it's strong," he admitted and she drank quickly, pulling a face at the taste. He was staring at her now, concern written all over his face. She wrenched away from his face, she couldn't stand to see him caring for her. It hurt so much, knowing that he would give everything for her and she didn't feel the same way about him. She could feel his eyes burning into the side of her head and she drank quicker, turning back to glare at him.

"Would you stop looking at me like that?" she snapped. "Like I'm some puppy that you need to protect. I was doing just fine until you came along and I'm doing fine now!"

Lies of course, she'd been at breaking point in the Asylum and she felt like shit now. But she was sick of his judgement, of his looks. He was either pitying her or ogling her and she was sick of both. Of course it wasn't that simple, but the alcohol burning in her veins made it more simple. He was looking at her again and she swivelled to push him away. But he wasn't looking at her at all. He was staring into his own drink, looking ashamed of himself. Oswin felt worse than ever. He couldn't control the way he felt for her and it wasn't his fault. She had no right to be so angry with him.

"This isn't working, is it?" Oswin murmured. "Us. Being friends."

The Doctor looked at her and frowned, his face examining her. She hated to admit it, but things were not getting better. Not really. They could put on a semblance of normality for the sake of their friendship, but things were different. And they both needed some clarification. Some time to think and assess where the hell they were at.

"I don't think it is," the Doctor admitted. "I think we just both some time alone to re-evaluate what we want from this…"

Oswin didn't want to go home, not even for a little while, but at this stage of the game, it looked like there was no other real option. It had taken a little booze and a lot of awkwardness to get her to this point so she stared at the Doctor. He shrugged.

"Take me home?" Oswin said gently. "You go off and take as much time as you need. Either to get over me or to find a way to cope with your feelings for me. And once you feel you can cope, come back. I'll give you two weeks Doctor. Come back within two weeks or don't come back at all. Go off and decide what you want and how you're going to get it and if you still want to travel with me, I'll be waiting for you."

The Doctor nodded, digesting the information. One of the perks of having a time machine, Oswin decided was that he could take 100 years to make his decision and she wouldn't have to wait one hundred years for him. Oswin trudged back to the TARDIS, her head feeling clearer than ever, as if the swirling of the alcohol had provided much needed clarity. The Doctor was staring at her as the TARDIS took off and he was still looking at her when it landed with a crashing halt. She didn't want to make things awkward, but nevertheless, she ran across the console and pulled him into a crashing hug.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "Please come back for me."

She hadn't realised it until that moment but she needed him. She needed the TARDIS. Without them, she didn't know what she was, who she was. It was as if she had been born to travel with him. And more than that, she sensed that he needed her too. She didn't like to think what would happen to him if he travelled alone for too long. She knew that she'd seen him again, she just knew it. He nodded to her and then she skipped out of the TARDIS. The Doctor was going to come back. He had to.


	11. Chapter 11: Back To Normal

***Hello troops! Another day, another Oswin chapter. I'm fairly happy with this one, as I think it sums up the only possible out for the Doctor and Oswin. But it's more than that. In any case, there's only two left, so I hope you like this one! Next one will be Monday, then the final chapter will be Tuesday. As ever, thank you so much for reading, reviewing, following and favouriting and please please review and let me know your thoughts. TPD***

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The next two weeks were always going to be tough. But Oswin didn't really quite how tough. She couldn't sleep, afraid that if she did, she would miss the whining, wheezing of the TARDIS arriving. When she did fall asleep, she had nightmares that the Doctor had left her in the Asylum. Surrounded by Daleks. They got in of course, they always did and Oswin woke, sweating and shaking. She could never admit to him how bad the nightmares were; because that would mean admitting she was scared of Daleks. He was never scared of Daleks. It was easy for him, he hadn't had to try and sleep to sounds of their shrieking every night for a year.

When Oswin was awake, she was constantly on edge. She spent the first day or so reasoning that she hadn't needed to give him two weeks, he had a time machine, he could pop up within a day of leaving. But when he didn't show, she had to come up with new logic, new reasoning, new comfort. She had to find ways to reassure herself that the Doctor was coming back. She had ideas, of course. She needed time to process how she was going to deal with him when he did come back and the inevitable possibility of an overshoot, so poor was his TARDIS flying. Oswin needed to keep running scenarios over in her head, it was that or entertain the possibility that he wasn't coming back for her. Which he was. Of course he was. Oswin didn't think for a moment that he wasn't coming back.

At least that's what she told herself. Because there was always that aching, niggling doubt, warning her that she couldn't afford to get her hopes up. Because why would he come back for her, when all she had given him was pain and heartbreak? Oswin told herself that his feelings for her would bring him back, but then it was his feelings for her that had driven them into this mess. The question wasn't whether he would come back, but whether he should. After all, if he couldn't shake off his problematic feelings, or find a way to deal with them, then they were right back where they started. And Oswin didn't know what they'd do if that was the case.

Oswin also felt guilty that the pressure should be on the Doctor. She was just as likely to fall in love with him that he was out of love with her, right? This was another thought that she dismissed out of hand when it cropped up. She didn't know what more the Doctor could do to inspire her love. He'd rescued her from hell, slept with her, shown her time and space and been the most kind and caring person she'd ever met. Oswin knew that she would never fall for the Doctor and that was the crux of their problem. More than that though, the problem was that if the Doctor stopped loving her, which could take him a long time, he would have no incentive to come back for her or worse, he would think he was out of love with her and then he'd come crashing right back into it.

These were the doubts that plagued Oswin over the two weeks she waited for the Doctor. And as steadfast as she was in her belief that he would return, her security in that knowledge was increasingly shaky. The doubts crept into every corner, every moment, until the two weeks were almost up and Oswin had even started to question him. But the questions were about more than just if he did come back, but what would happen when…if he did.

Oswin tried to relax. She thought that hearing that groaning, wheezing noise, would somehow reassure her. That the knowledge that he was back, that he hadn't abandoned her would be a relief. But it wasn't. Instead, she just felt sick to her stomach with nerves, unable to untangle the knot in her stomach, forcing herself to take deep breaths as she smoothed down her dress and hair. The TARDIS doors flew open and there he was in front of her, a glint in his eyes, his hair quiffed up as ever and the beige suit he wore was complimented with his favourite red bow tie. It reminded Oswin of the dress she'd worn when they first met in the Asylum. It was the dress she was wearing now.

"Aha, there you are Soufflé Girl!" he laughed. "Sorry for taking so long, I wanted to give you the maximum time possible to get your head in order. Not that you needed it, but hey ho. So, are you coming?"

"That depends Chin," Oswin said uncertainly, but feeling hopeful. "How's your head?"

"I feel a lot better," he said with a smile that Oswin trusted, because she could see in his eyes that it was genuine. "I just needed a month or so to detox myself, purge the unclean thoughts from my head, as it were. I'm feeling…refulgent!" He twirled and rubbed his hands together. If it was an act, it was a very convincing one. Maybe it was better if Oswin didn't question it, if she just accepted it.

"Okay then," Oswin gave him a nervous look but she believed him. Or wanted to believe him. She supposed that in the end, it didn't make a vast amount of difference. Suddenly she was hugging him and that felt good, his warm chest against her, the little chuckle he gave, somewhere above her head and then he tapped her nose affectionately.

"Ready to go?" he asked again, clearly impatient to on his way. Oswin rolled her eyes at this, it was typical Doctor to be so eager to get going, so ready just to drop everything.

"Not just yet," Oswin smirked. If he was going to be his usual, irritating self then so was she. She had really missed the constant tug of war between them, the constant battle for supremacy in their relationship that had been missing the last few months. "I just need to double check my packing, don't want to forget anything now, do I?" she said sweetly.

The Doctor was rolling his eyes and grumbling, in that way that he always did. He loved it really, she could see it on his face, and he was amused by her, like she was a child or a puppy. She hated it when he was patronising but then she was just as likely to patronise him right back. Maybe it wasn't the healthiest dynamic, Oswin reasoned, but it had worked really well for them while they'd been doing it, certainly a lot better than their dynamic recently. She questioned how much of that was down to her own personality, vivid, rough, guarded. She didn't know what she made of herself, except that at times she worried if there was something wrong with her. How could there not be, after the Asylum. But then he'd made her a more complete person, she was sure of it.

Oswin finished packing and threw him her bags, laughing to herself as he struggled to carry them into the TARDIS, grunting under the weight of all of Oswin's stuff. Neither of them mentioned how much stuff she'd left on the TARDIS when she left anyway, as they had both known that he was coming back, no matter how much Oswin tried to psyche herself out of it. He was still looking pissed off when he returned to the console room to see her lean smugly against the console.

"Did you have to bring so much stuff?" he grunted.

"Of course I did dear," she giggled. "What better way to show you who's boss than have you carry my bags?" She felt so much better it was unreal. Whatever the Doctor had done to his head, it had managed to make things normal between them and whilst she found it difficult to believe, she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth…

* * *

She had bought it then. The Doctor had spent the last month trying to pull himself together, trying to compose himself. But every time he thought of Oswin, he burned, like an uncontrollable fire, one that he wasn't sure he knew how to quell. He could stop himself from loving her, he reckoned, given enough time and the right memory altering techniques. But that wasn't what he wanted. That wouldn't work, but it meant that when he went back for her, he either wouldn't want to go back for her, or he'd just fall in love with her. No, those were temporary and haphazard fixes. There had to be some way to make himself stop being in love with Oswin, to preserve their friendship.

Then it had hit him, like a wave. He had been inspired by the Cybermen, of all things. He had found an empty suit and pretended to be a Cyberman, in order to slip past their defences. All he had to do was act emotionless. And that had been when it had hit him. In order to preserve his friendship with Oswin, he didn't need to stop loving her. He didn't need to be a Cyberman. All that mattered was that she thought he was. That she thought that he'd stop loving her. And it would be easier than the Cyberman case, because it was what she wanted. Oswin wanted him not to love her, which would make the lie so much easier to buy. Even if she could see through his disguise, she would convince herself that it was genuine, because it was the only way. She was as desperate as he was for things to go back to normal, so maybe all it needed was for them to be normal about it. He knew that it was far from the best plan he'd ever had, but it was the only plan he had. It had to work.

So he practiced. He trained himself not to shoot looks at Oswin when he thought she was oblivious, to stop doing silly things like kissing her cheek or being overly tender. He could be the same abrasive Doctor he had always been. And it was easy. The flustering, the emotion, it was all real and Oswin could accept that, but the real feelings he had were easy to conceal. The Doctor was a natural born liar; all he'd needed was a head start, an excuse. He needed Oswin to have reason to believe him and he could run with it. So he gave her the two weeks she had requested and he ensured that his armour was intact. He knew her well enough to fool her. This would be easy.

The second the TARDIS touched down, the Doctor felt nerves crashing through him. But he had always been very good at supressing nerves. He stepped out. She looked exactly like she did when he rescued her from the Asylum, all unkempt hair and gorgeous red dress. He wanted to throw himself onto her, his resolve already weakening. But he was better than that. He was stronger.

"Aha, there you are Soufflé Girl!" he grinned at her, letting himself laugh a little. Hopefully, he seemed normal. "Sorry for taking so long, I wanted to give you the maximum time possible to get your head in order. Not that you needed it, but hey ho. So, are you coming?"

She seemed tentative. Of course she did. She was weighing up whether or not it was genuine. She was asking about his head, he was going to have to be convincing with his lie. Okay Doctor, time to put on a show.

"I feel a lot better," he said, giving her his best smile and his brightest eyes. Oswin always thought she could read his eyes; the Doctor knew better. "I just needed a month or so to detox myself, purge the unclean thoughts from my head, as it were. I'm feeling…refulgent!"

She was starting to accept it; he could see it written all over her face. She said it too, the words she didn't say looping over the ones she did. She was walking towards him at a rapid rate and then she was in his arms. The hug felt good and the Doctor was forced to supress all of his tender and not so tender urges. He settled for a nose tap, thinking that would go down better than a head kiss. Judging by her reaction, he'd nailed it.

"Ready to go?" the Doctor asked, his voice oozing confidence. Confidence was the key to putting on a show, lose your confidence and they don't believe you. You almost have to believe yourself. And Oswin believed him, he could tell. She had her swagger back, her guard was back up but loosened, so she wasn't completely letting him in, but neither was she blocking him out. She was throwing bags at him, clothes that he wasn't even aware she owned being piled onto him. He threw out the odd grunt or grumble as he carried Oswin's clothes into her bedroom, which was exactly how she'd left it, he'd not been able to bring himself to go in there. He was hit by a wave of Oswin as he entered it, as it looked and smelled just like her. He dumped her stuff, took a deep breath and recomposed himself.

"Did you have to bring so much stuff?" the Doctor moaned.

"Of course I did dear," she replied, doing her most adorable giggle that sent shivers down the Doctor's spine. "What better way to show you who's boss than have you carry my bags?"

Oswin had bought it. The Doctor allowed himself to relax; he was in complete control of the situation now. All he needed to do was keep her thinking things were normal. After all that was what they both wanted, what they both needed. He smiled wickedly at her and she grinned back. They were both thinking the same thing. It was good to have things back to normal.

The Doctor flipped the switches, pumped the levers and rammed the buttons, Oswin's cackling as she clung for dear life to railings music to his ears. He hadn't decided where they were going, where he even wanted to go. But the choice was swiftly taken away from him. The console started beeping and the Doctor crossed to check what it was.

"Distress signal!" he called to Oswin. "Shall we check it out?"

"I'm surprised you even have to ask."


	12. Chapter 12: Facing Fears

***Hello one and al****l! Penultimate Oswin chapter! At long last, it's almost finished. Last chapter should be up tomorrow, but it might be Wednesday, so no promises. Anyways, this one picks up directly where the last one left off, distress signal being chased down. Oh and before we get underway, I just want to apologise in advance. I hope you like it, thank you so much for all your support, everyone who has read, reviewed, followed and favourited. Tomorrow's the last page. But watch this space. TPD***

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Lieutenant James D Holliday had seen many things in his time. But nothing like this. Not death on this scale. Three attack ships ahead of him, blown right out of space. In pieces, bodies floating around their charred remains and the debris. And Lt. Holliday was expected to carry on battling. He wanted nothing more than to turn on his heel and scarper, this area of space was lost. But no, he had to carry on fighting. They didn't blow up his ship, oh no. Instead, they sent a boarding party. It wouldn't take them long to get on board, the Lt. knew that. He sent his finest warriors to repel the invasion, but he heard their screams as they died. In agony. It was the worst kind of death, slow and every moment racked with pain. Not the sort of death he would want for anyone. Let alone his friends. He shuddered as they died, one by one, his friends, the people he had worked with, fought beside. The ship was lost, there was nothing he could do now.

They were firing from the outside, as well as the inside now, and explosions rocked his ship, here on the bridge alarms were blaring left, right and centre. He flipped a few switches, his people around him trying not to panic as he shouted orders. He ordered them to send a distress signal and at that moment, as the signal shot out into space, Lt. Holliday's day got a hell of a lot weirder. A strange, wheezing noise filled the air and as the Lt. turned, his bridge had a guest, as a big blue box materialised in front of him. He stopped yelling, his voice failing him as the box door opened and a man wearing a beige tweed jacket and a red bow tie the colour of the box stepped out, a girl in a crimson dress and pumps two seconds behind her. They were grinning like maniacs.

"May God have mercy on our souls!" Lt. Holliday muttered.

"You won't be needing God today Lieutenant!" the man laughed. "I'm the Doctor, this is Oswin. And we're here to save your ship!"

As Oswin stepped out of the TARDIS, she stepped into carnage. Alarms, screams and gunfire everywhere. Thankfully, they were on the bridge, away from the crux of the fighting, but Oswin still shivered at the sounds of death and destruction. The ship rocked as it was battered and the Doctor was already taking control, ordering people about and turning to the man in charge.

"What's the situation?" he demanded, shooting Oswin a wink as he flipped a few switches on the main console and muttered curses under his breath. "The ship's not in a good way, how did it end up this way? What's attacking us?" There was urgency in the Doctor's voice and Oswin could feel the tension in the air.

"We heard reports," the Lieutenant explained. "Luxury cruise liners in this sector weren't reaching their destination. We sent out scout ships to report, but they never came back either, their reports just stopped. We've not had anything come out of here for months, so command sent in my ship, a destroyer class battleship and three smaller battleships with us. The others were blown out of the sky, we've been boarded by these…creatures. These horrific creatures…and our primary engines are shot. I'm Lieutenant James D Holliday and so help me, I'm going down with my ship."

The Doctor put a reassuring hand on his shoulder and said something quietly that Holliday shook his head at. The Doctor then turned back to Oswin, frowning and licking his lips in agitation. Oswin smiled at him, but it was a hollow smile, she knew as well as he did that the situation wasn't good.

"How bad is it?" she asked him in an undertone and he gave her a look that indicated that it was anything but. "What're we up against here?"

"I don't know," he growled. "And that's frustrating. Have we got the video feed up yet?"

At that moment, the ship shook once more and the video feed coughed into life. Oswin screamed. She couldn't help it, as her heart stopped working and her worst nightmares all crashed in on her. Daleks. It was Daleks. Three of them were entering the ship and Oswin clung to the Doctor. He glanced at her, fear in his eyes. It was nothing compared to the fear in Oswin's. She couldn't breathe, as she heard the screams of Daleks banging on her doors, on her walls. She was even wearing the same dress. She collapsed to her knees, curling up into a ball and covering her ears. Nobody else could hear the Daleks, but she could. They were screeching in her ears, all she could this was: "EXTERMINATE!"

"Oswin?" the Doctor's voice was so far away, trying to guide her back to reality and Oswin tried to latch onto it, tried to relax herself as his words were aimed at comforting her. But it was too late, she was already back in the Asylum, surrounded by Daleks on all sides, the only thing protecting her was her flimsy barricade, which was barely reinforced but was somehow keeping them out. She was being dragged to her feet, and she could see the Doctor in front of her as her eyes snapped open and then, she heard doors, the wheezing of the TARDIS and then as the TARDIS doors slammed, Oswin managed to calm herself. Maybe it was just the calming, rhythmic background noise of the TARDIS, or maybe it was the realisation that she was safe, that the Daleks could not possibly penetrate the TARDIS walls, but Oswin felt okay.

She took deep breaths, forced herself to relax against the console. The Doctor was nowhere to be seen. Of course he wasn't. He was still out there, going to fight off the Daleks. Alone. Oswin was a wretched friend, if she was going to let him fight off a hoard of Daleks all by himself, but she didn't have a choice. She couldn't go back out there. The mere sight of a Dalek had paralysed her with fear. The nightmares of the last year had left her more terrified than ever. She had been running on adrenaline in the Asylum, in the moments when she escaped. But now? Now she wasn't plugged into their system, she didn't have their nano genes in her head, she was powerless against them. She couldn't help the Doctor if she wanted to.

The TARDIS doors crashed open and Oswin swivelled, as people ran inside, the Doctor at the head of them, finding Oswin. He wasn't smiling, but he pulled her into a huge hug, which she would never have admitted she needed, but nevertheless she desperately did. She managed to put on a brave face and as he released her and scanned her, she raised an eyebrow.

"What was that for?" she scoffed unconvincingly. "I'm fine Chin, honestly." He didn't buy it, she could tell. "What's the plan?" she asked shakily.

"You stay here," he said firmly. "I'm going to set the ship's engines to self-destruct and get the ship on a collision course with the Dalek ship. Boom, lots of destruction but first, everyone on this ship needs to be brought to safety. You stay here, look after them. There's still a handful of people on the other side of the ship, including the Lt.'s wife, so he and I…"

"You're going back out there." Oswin put it bluntly. She wasn't even remotely surprised by this; it was such a Doctor thing to do. He nodded and she threw all caution to the wind she kissed his cheek. "Be careful," she whispered, pulling him into another hug, tears streaming down her cheeks now, as her brave façade came crashing down and she was shaking.

"I've fought them hundreds of times Oswin," he told her reassuringly. "I always come back."

She didn't believe him, couldn't believe him. Thoughts of the Asylum rocked her again. She stepped away from him as he nodded to the Lt. and they left the TARDIS, leaving Oswin alone with all of men and women from the ship. She was surprised that nobody else had gone with the Doctor and Holliday, but it was the chilling realisation that their weapons couldn't hurt the Daleks that explained that. This was a rescue mission, but it was also a suicide mission. Oswin knew that she had to go back out there. Without her, he was dead. Oswin didn't know how she knew, but she had to face her fears. It was the only way to save the Doctor. Oswin was taking deep breaths but every time she thought of the Daleks, screaming, she had to lean against the console for support. Then she thought about him, thought about the Doctor. Thought about him dying. Thought about his limp, lifeless body being hit by Daleks extermination rays. And that was all she needed. Her fear of losing the Doctor was greater than her fear of the Daleks. She took a deep breath and she crossed the TARDIS console room, stumbling past people who stared at her murmuring.

"Where are you going?" someone asked her. She whirled to face them, determination in her eyes. She took a deep breath and smiled at the people staring at her.

"I'm going to save the Doctor," she informed them.

Every step was difficult. She had underestimated the crippling fear that would rush through her when she stepped outside the TARDIS. As soon as she was free from the protective shell of the blue box, she felt the darkness wrapping itself around her again, seeping into every pore of her being, controlling her thoughts. She almost lost her footing as she stepped outside but one look at the video feed, both simultaneously crippled her and gave her the adrenaline shot she needed. Daleks, and the Doctor wasn't far away from them. She crossed to the console, ignoring the bile rising in her throat and the violent shaking of her legs. If she had a clear head, then she could do this. No fear could be debilitating enough to shake her.

She quickly got up a map of the ship and managed to isolate the Doctor's position. It wouldn't take her long to catch up with him. If she could walk. As the doors to the bridge opened when she approached, she felt her left leg fail her. She couldn't fail. She wasn't going to let the Doctor die. Oswin forced herself to step out into the corridor. She was hoping that her survival instincts would kick in soon, overriding the fear that threatened to overwhelm her every step.

Oswin moved quickly down the corridors, listening out for the very words that would freeze her heart and leave her powerless. Thankfully, they never came. She ran swiftly onwards, desperately looking for the Doctor, terrified that she'd find herself lost in this maze and that when the Daleks came, she'd be alone, trapped and a sitting duck. She didn't allow herself to entertain that thought. She had to face her fear. Her greatest fear. If and only if she did that, then she would survive and so would the Doctor. She kept on moving, until she heard voices. Hushed voices. Human voices. She followed the source of the voices and crashed into a small group of people just round the corner from her. There were six of them, two women, two men, the Lt. and…

"What the hell are you doing here?" the Doctor hissed. "I told you to wait in the TARDIS. This is the Daleks we're talking about. Anyone else and I'd understand but…" he looked perplexed. "Oswin," he said carefully. "I know about the nightmares."

He'd heard her night time cries then, how she tossed and turned at night, yelling at the Daleks not to exterminate her, begging them, begging him. His eyes were full of sympathy. She bit her lip and shook her head.

"They don't matter," she insisted. "The only thing that matters is making sure that you get back into the TARDIS in one piece and I know that I can't do that from trapped inside that box. You need me Chin, whether you know it or not."

"Oswin Oswald!" he grumbled, rushing over to kiss the top of her head. "For goodness' sake. All of you, come on. Keep low. Don't engage the Daleks." They filed after him. The Lt. and his wife held the back end with their guns, the other three in the middle, the Doctor leading the way with Oswin half a step behind him. "I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you," he muttered under his breath and she smiled despite herself. "Stay close Soufflé Girl."

Oswin did just that, staying so close to him, almost clinging to his arm. Then they heard it. The shrieking. She didn't know which sound was worse. The shriek of the Dalek, the sound of the death ray, the anguished cry of the Lt.'s wife as she dropped dead or the inhuman roar that the Lt. himself made as he fired back on the Dalek. Oswin wanted to cry, so tight was the vice-grip on the Doctor's arm that she feared he'd lose circulation. He had her by the hand and then they were running, shots fired behind them and the screams of human and Dalek mixing in an ungodly racket. Somewhere along the line, the Doctor had scooped Oswin into his arms, because she had been forced to stop, so horrific was the pounding in her head, the sounds of the Daleks filling her. The two of them weren't the only ones still alive, as the other woman who had been with them was running, firing over her shoulder at the Daleks, who were advancing. Then, they were crashing back into the bridge. The Doctor set Oswin down and ran to the console.

"What are you doing?" Oswin screamed. "Get back in the TARDIS!"

"No!" he shouted back. "I have to deadlock the controls. This ship has to blow them up. It has to."

"Doctor," she pleaded. "We've saved everyone we can save, just come on!"

"No!" he yelled, his voice manic. "I need to kill them. You don't understand. I hate them more than anything. I can't let them live. Get in the TARDIS, I'll just be a minute."

"Doctor!" Oswin's voice choked as a solitary Dalek reached the bridge. The Doctor was trapped, like a deer in the headlights.

"Too late!" he called to the Dalek, shooting Oswin a glance. She could still get inside the TARDIS, but she hadn't budged. "The controls are deadlocked. This ship was going to crash into yours. Both of them will explode, you lot will die. Bang. How do you like that, Dalek?"

"Exterminate!"

Everything happened in slow motion. The Dalek seemed to recall what he was saying as the Doctor made for the TARDIS. The first shot narryowly missed him and he was forced back, snared, with no escape. He and Oswin locked eyes and he shook his head. She was trembling, her entire body shaking. The Doctor knew he should be dead. The Dalek had him trained. But he also knew that he wasn't about to die. Because he knew exactly what was about to happen and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

"Oswin," he cried, desperately. "No!"

"Run!" she sobbed. "Run you clever boy! And remember me!"

"Oswin!"

"Exterminate!"

She stepped in between them as the Dalek took the shot. The Doctor roared, Oswin screamed, a single solitary noise, piercing the air and he raced to her. He pulled her inside the TARDIS, not giving the Dalek time for another shot before he shut the door. Everyone in the TARDIS as he clutched Oswin's dead body and then the Doctor broke down, starting to sob.


	13. Chapter 13: The Cloud

***So this is it everyone! The final Oswin Oswald AU chapter. A huge thanks once more to whouffletothemax for the prompt, for everyone who has read, reviewed, followed and favourited and of course to Steven Moffat and the Who crew who own the rights to all the characters. Anyway, I really hope you've enjoyed this story and you like the last chapter, where I answer the lingering question in all of your minds, was Oswin an echo or not? TPD*******

**P.S: Scary side note, Chapter 13 in Transitions was also called The Cloud (I hate weird coincidences and this is one of them).**

* * *

Madam Vastra was worried about the Doctor. Ever since he had crashed into their lives again, alone, looking close to death, a shell of his former self, she didn't know what to do. Things were different now, he barely spoke to them and when he did, he spoke sharply, barely giving them a moment to speak but he cut them up with harsh words. It didn't bother her, nor Jenny and Strax, they were not the type to bristle at harsh words, but it made her worry about what had happened to lead him to this cloud. He had been up there for years, she knew that much. It hadn't been that long for them, but his TARDIS was in a phase loop, so he could live fifty years up there and only three years had passed for them down below him. He occasionally down off of his cloud, to walk the town, reminisce about old times and grumble to Vastra about various things. He never said her name, but Vastra knew he had lost someone close to him. She'd asked him about the Ponds, but he had merely frowned and told her they were long gone. This new wound was fresh. It was different somehow. And Vastra was determined to get to the bottom of it.

But Vastra had bigger problems, like the insane Doctor Simeon. She didn't know exactly what he was up to, but it wasn't good. He had been collecting snow from all over the city, patches of snow. And the men who had collected the snow for him hadn't been seen since. This stunk, and Vastra was attracted to things that stunk like a moth to a flame. What she needed though, was the Doctor. And there was no way to get him off of his cloud. Jenny was insistent on such a point, telling Vastra that this was something that they'd have to handle themselves. Vastra was reluctant to agree, but it seemed that they had no choice. They would just have to do without the Doctor.

The Doctor didn't pretend that he wasn't a stranger there. But neither was he about to rob himself of this chance to say goodbye. He owed her that much. The cluster of people surrounding the coffin was small, but meaningful. Oswin's father was sobbing, Nina and various other friends gathered around it, unable to contain their upset.

"I've already mourned her once," her father was saying. "Now I have to say goodbye to my daughter for a second time." The Doctor stung with guilt.

He was stood just behind them all, unable to bring himself to come closer. He had to, though. He had to say goodbye, even if nobody else wanted him there. He had known her better than anyone this past year and it was his fault she was dead. His own selfish bloodlust had cost Oswin her life, when it should have cost him his. He would never forgive himself. He cleared his throat and took a step forward.

"I just wanted to say a few words," he murmured, earning him poisonous looks, but nobody protested. Tears were streaming down his cheeks. "The last year of my life with Oswin, has been one of the best. Certainly for her, but also for me. I didn't realise how much I needed her, but I became reliant on Oswin, she was my rock." He paused. "And I got her killed. She died to save me, because I was so determined…" He trailed off. "I should have protected her and I failed."

He leaned in and kissed the top of the coffin. There were more words he needed to say, but couldn't. It wouldn't matter, Oswin couldn't hear them. Never would hear them. She died, not knowing that he was still in love with her. His own choice of course, but a tragedy nevertheless. The Doctor had lost people before, but this just felt like the last straw. He still missed Amy and Rory, now he had Oswin to add to the list of people who had died at his hand. He always blamed himself of course, but it was rare that a companion of his actually died and even rarer that it was actually his fault. He hadn't just failed to save Oswin, he had killed her. He could have let the Daleks go, he could have got in the TARDIS and dragged Oswin with him. Instead, he had forgotten her, forgotten everything, in his pursuit of revenge.

And where had it gotten him? There were still millions of Daleks out there. But there was no Oswin. Not now. Because of him. He traipsed back to the TARDIS, stopping to take one final look around Oswin's room. There was nothing there to indicate Oswin had lived there at all. Everything even remotely personal was in the one place that the Doctor couldn't bring himself to go. Her TARDIS bedroom. So many painful reminders. He'd asked to keep the dress, that red dress he had found her in, the dress she had died in. Nobody had complained. She'd been dressed up for the funeral of course and nobody had wanted the dress. He didn't know what he would do with it, probably just leave it hanging somewhere in the TARDIS where he could see it, as a constant reminder. A reminder of what he was.

The Doctor decided to redecorate, do some jumbling about. Despite the overwhelming temptation, he couldn't jettison Oswin's room. As much as he wanted to, to get rid of everything, every reminder, he couldn't. But he also couldn't go in there. He, like the bedroom, was stuck in limbo. And it was horrifying. Horrifying to know that he was so useless, such a slave to his emotions. The person he loved most was dead, following the Ponds as another person whose life he had ruined. The cycle just kept going. How could I go on from this, where could he go from this?

He went on a Dalek killing spree, hoping to numb some of the pain of losing Oswin. Taking revenge felt so much more satisfying than sitting around his TARDIS moping, but no matter how many Daleks he blew up, it didn't make him feel better. So he decided to settle down somewhere, somewhere he could never hurt anyone ever again. Somewhere like Victorian London, where Vastra, Jenny and Strax were hanging out. There he had friends, but people that he wouldn't get killed.

He didn't treat them as friends. To him, they were nothing more than annoyances. He became increasingly bitter, sat up on his cloud, grumbling to himself, watching the universe from afar, occasionally tuning into some interstellar radio, watching the people below like ants. He wasn't sure what disgusted him more, the realisation that he had become just like his own people, or the fact that that no longer bothered him. Either way, it made him sick to his stomach. He was just another Time Lord, not interfering in the affairs of people or planets. The only way to shake off that feeling was to go down to the city. He didn't have to interact, but merely being there shook off the nagging feeling of conformity.

It was fifty years for the Doctor. So long, he had almost forgotten Oswin's face. But he could never forget the dress, still perched in the most inconvenient place he could think of, so he was forced to face it every single day. He'd stopped wearing bow ties about year 10, but that no longer bothered him either. He wasn't worthy to wear them anymore. He needed something to change, needed something to get him back into gear, not that was what he wanted. But it was what he needed. Vastra and Jenny and Strax kept trying to entice him off of his cloud whenever he went down, but that wasn't going to cut it. He needed Oswin, in truth. Someone like Oswin, someone who he could see being on the TARDIS full time. And, whilst he would never admit it, because that was exactly what he was trying to avoid, he secretly wanted it.

He told himself that he went down to the city to shake the nagging feeling he was a stiff old Time Lord, but in truth, he was secretly hoping that something would change, that someone would pop up to restore his faith, to make him believe again. And then, one snowy night, the miracle happened. Someone did just that.

He was walking past a bar, somewhere called the Rose and Crown. As he was doing so, a young woman stepped out. His first thought was shock, but he wasn't sure why. She reminded him of someone, he knew that much, but he couldn't quite pinpoint who. It had been so very long since he had seen another person. She had a nice smile and a cockney accent, her long brown hair curled in places. She was short and defensive. He had a nagging feeling in his brain that he couldn't quite grasp. Who was she?

She said her name was Clara and she followed him around, trying to get him to investigate the snow. He would've used the memory worm on her, but he couldn't, as she needed to remember how to fend off the snow. Carnivorous snow. He wanted more than anything to investigate, but he shouldn't. Not even the lovely Miss Clara would convince him to investigate. He was done. Clara would only get hurt if she followed him.

Except she did convince him. The Doctor had tried his hardest to resist, but when Vastra gave Clara the one word test, she answered Pond. And he was back in the game. He had been looking for an excuse, and this Clara had given him one. If Amelia Pond could see him now, what would she say to him? She would be ashamed. Amelia and Rory and River and Oswin, they would all be ashamed of him if they could see him now.

So he went to investigate Doctor Walter Simeon and his Great Intelligence Institute and sure enough, he found the pond Clara was referring to. That was when the other half of his prophecy came true. That was when he hurt Clara. Because they fought the ice-lady that came out of the pond and before he knew it, he was asking her to join him on his TARDIS. Then she asked him something that shook him to his core.

"Is there a kitchen? I like baking soufflés…"

He staggered back like he'd been punched. But before he could react, before he put the pieces together in his mind, Clara was gone. The ice lady had grabbed her and dragged her off the cloud. Off of his cloud. It was his fault. Another death on his conscience. But then, Strax revived her. And the Doctor had had enough. He wasn't going to stand by and lose one more person. Not one more. So he did a deal with the universe, if it was listening. He would not lose Clara and he would stop the Great Intelligence.

And stop the Great Intelligence he did, with Clara's help of course. And then, as he parked the TARDIS beside her, he knew she was dying and there was nothing he could do. So he put on his bravest face and knelt beside her, smiling despite the aching pain in his soul, the same aching pain he had spent fifty years trying to get rid of. He needed her to live, he needed her to survive. And then, she said those final words. And he realised. He realised his mistake.

"Run you clever boy and remember…"

"Oswin?" he gasped. The pieces were falling into place. He scratched his head, trying to make sense of it all. Then, the final piece of the puzzle slotted into place. He was by her grave, Vastra and Jenny by his side and he finally saw her full name. Clara Oswin Oswald.

"Oswin?" he breathed, touching the gravestone with his hands lightly. "Oswin!"

He was on his feet now, relief and insanity racing through him. It was her. It was definitely her. The soufflés, the final words and now the name. It was her. Clara was Oswin. Or Oswin was Clara. He didn't know what it meant, except that it meant something, something he had never dreamed he would have again. Hope.

"I'm confused Doctor," Vastra frowned. "Who is Oswin?"

"Oswin Oswald. She was a girl. She crashed into the Dalek Asylum and I saved her…and we travelled together…" he was blinking back tears. "And I fell in love with her and then I got her killed. She died, for me, same as Clara. Oswin, my Oswin. And don't you get it, they were the same girl. Two different Oswins. And if there's two then..."

"Then what?" Jenny frowned. She and Vastra exchanged a look which made it clear that they thought that the Doctor had lost his mind. Maybe he had, but it was his only chance to save Oswin. And he wasn't going to pass it up.

"Then maybe she's still out there, maybe there's another her. Another Oswin. And I can find her. And I can save her!" he ran off, racing for the TARDIS.

"I don't understand!" Jenny shouted after him. "Where are you going?"

"Neither do I!" he shouted back. "But I'm going to find her. To find Oswin. To find Clara."

He whooped and cheered as he crashed into his TARDIS. He stared at the red dress, the only reminder he had of Oswin. And then he did something he hadn't done in fifty years. He went into Oswin's bedroom. It was messy, as it always was, clothes and souvenirs strewn everywhere. Amongst them, a single photo, of Oswin and the Doctor, on a day where she had finally allowed to take one, because her hair looked good and he'd been insistent. He picked up the photo and kissed it once before putting it into his pocket.

"Hang on Oswin," he whispered. "I'm coming to find you."


End file.
